


Curse

by JenniferWilson



Category: One Piece
Genre: ASL Brothers, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Character Death Fix, Death, Future!Luffy, Gen, Not A Fix-It, Punk Hazard Arc, Time Travel, Time Travel Fix-It, Tragedy, What-If
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-12-07
Updated: 2016-07-31
Packaged: 2018-05-05 12:00:15
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 27
Words: 100,752
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5374499
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JenniferWilson/pseuds/JenniferWilson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>When one gets to travel back in time, is it a blessing or a curse? Luffy doesn't know. But when the Pirate King wakes up on the Moby Dick, he's so tired of living. Meanwhile, his (previously dead) crew desperately searches for an answer, and the Marines retraces the greatest schism since its founding. And what's this about Raftel?</p><p>IN PROCESS OF REWRITE.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Arrival

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A wanderer emerges upon the Moby Dick. Marco analyzes the newest crew member who's not all what he seems. Thatch finds a Devil Fruit.

The first time Marco sees the Wanderer was after a shipwreck. As part of looking for salvage, they fish out provisions floating about in the sea. As the provisions are loaded into the central kitchen, his division starts opening up the crates in order to allocate their goods to different kitchens.

They open up a barrel, only to discover that there wasn't any food inside.

"What a nice nap that was!" A man stretched his arms out as his brother jumps away from the barrel, fearful of any weapons that he may carry. "Looks like I'm saved! I thought I was going to die too!"

All at the scene stared at him. Marco is more astonished at the fact that he didn't detect his presence even as he was inspecting his progress.

"Who are you?" The man digs his nose as he stares back at them.

"Who the heck are you!" Marco answers back, twitching an eyebrow. "Why would someone be coming out of a wine barrel!"

The man shrugs.

"Hmm, what was it? Meerkat? Margo? Aha! You're that Mango right?" He slams his fist onto his palm. "From the Whitebeard Pirates, right?" Marco feels his eyebrow rise further and further.

"IT'S MARCO! YOU HAVEN'T ANSWERED MY QUESTION! WHO THE HECK ARE YOU!"

"Keshishishi..I'm Coby!" The man guiltily whistles away as he saunters out of the barrel.

"Damn it!" Marco's frustration unleashes itself as he punches the man. Instead of avoiding that punch, the man allows Marco to put his fist on him...

...and Marco feels weak all of a sudden.

"What are you!" Marco pulls back his fist, feeling his strength return as he does so. The man rubs the spot where Marco had attempted to punch him.

"A wanderer of course! Keshishishi!"

The wanderer (Coby was definitely a fake name. He was sure of it.) proceeded to avoid the crew on most days, and accepts no invitation by Pops to be one of his sons. Contrary to expectation, he avoids most chores except the washing of dishes, which he does extremely quickly to anyone's surprise. When asked, he says,

"My nakama always complained I can't do most chores without messing them up, so I do the ones most related to eating! Keshishishi!"

* * *

Consequently, Thatch takes the opportunity to get to know him by cornering him near one of the division spaces.

"Your name isn't Coby, right?" The wanderer scratches his head, his eyes closed in thought.

"Nope! But he's a nakama! So I will always remember his name!" He answers, grinning like a loon. "I also had a swordsman, a navigator, a liar, an archaeologist, a shipwright, a doctor...Oh and a musician! The musician's important!"

"What happened to them?" 'Coby's' expression shuts off, and he starts singing _Bink's Sake_ totally off key.

Thatch doesn't give up. Having persuaded Ace into stopping his attacks on Whitebeard, he thinks that he could woo the wanderer through his stomach, and sets a generous portion of food in front of him.

Surprisingly, the wanderer doesn't take the bait, and chooses to sip at some of the rum as well as indulge in a few pieces of meat before announcing he's done and off to spar with Ace.

* * *

Ace notices the new guy hardly likes to eat. In fact, Coby often skips lunch and dinner in favour of running up and down the deck.

There are times when Coby stares at him for a long period of time. Sometimes not noticeable, but sometimes it just doesn't add up, especially when he starts using his Devil Fruit Power.

It's like Luffy, but it's not. Instead of making use of elasticity, the newcomer uses Haki in his fist fights, and sometimes opts for a staff of some kind. The punches are way more accurate than his baby brother, but he can't imagine Luffy using odd elements such as stones to target his sparring partner's weak spots, or making use of multiple staffs in distracting his opponent. The newcomer fights just as unpredictably; his swings are often with the aid of gravity and his punches can sometimes come from unexpected points. It's almost enough to give a headache to any conventional pirate.

What's more, his use of Haki is combined with almost supernatural instincts. For example, he's able to tell the rough direction in which the ship is sailing even when he's below the deck. His knowledge of the islands around them is profound; he recognises the next location by the travelling time the ship takes.

"How do you know we're travelling to Sabody!" One of the navigators asks when the wanderer surfaces from below the deck.

"The wind/sea/seagulls/fish are telling me! Keshishishi!" He utters some nonsensical answer before proceeding to snore.

This wanderer continues his journey alongside the Whitebeard Pirates for several months, until Thatch finds a fruit. The devil fruit is a large, round, light purple fruit made up of many small teardrop-shaped components with swirl patterns, and green leaves sprouting from the top. Neither of the crew recognises it from descriptions of past fruits, thus Thatch is almost hesitant to eat it.

' _What to do.'_ On one hand, the rule was that any brother who had found it was free to eat it, and the Devil Fruit would give its user an advantage in any fight. On the other hand, Thatch managed to get this far without eating right? Also, with Marco, Ace and other devil fruit users on board, someone needed to rescue them right?

So he hadn't noticed anything when Teach came down looking for a snack. His brother within Ace's division was incapable of cooking a good meal.

"You're lucky I was awake!" He snarks, his newly acquired Devil Fruit placed in his pocket, "Otherwise you would have to wait until one of the cooks turn up for duty tomorrow!"

"Haha, thanks brother!" Teach rubs his head bashfully. Thatch chuckles, and proceeds to look for dried noodles and cheese.

He feels something sharp pierce through his back, and he winces, thinking it's one of the knives someone accidentally left sticking out of the wall. Don't most knives enter the other away around?

Then he feels blood running down his thigh, and the heavy weight in his pocket no longer exists. He turns back to see Teach snatching his Devil Fruit and eating it.

He stares in disbelief, because this could _not_ have just happened. His brother, who had fought with him, with _them,_ had just stabbed him in the back.

"Teach... you..." He manages to cry, but Teach is now out of sight, and no one could hear him as he sinks down into the floor.

Save one.

Two hands attempt to staunch the wound while muttering assurances, and Thatch finds himself falling, falling, falling into darkness.


	2. Questions

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marco emerges to havoc on board. Thatch overhears something he shouldn't. Ace reflects on the relationship between his brother...and someone.

Marco wakes up before dawn to chaos. He slams his door open to see Ace marching off to Whitebeard's cabin in righteous fury, while Izou has only two layers of make up on. It's enough to warn him that last night shit hit the fan.

He's right in all the worst ways. Thatch is _nearly_ dead, kept alive only with the best equipment that the _Moby Dick_ could offer what with a dagger piercing close to his spine and loss of blood that would probably haunt the rest of his days, because the _Moby Dick_ was supposed to be safe from all that when not in battle. Ace is a fiery pillar of rage, and explosions could be heard from five rooms away.

The wanderer is in the infirmary when he finds out that Ace, despite Pops' objections, had decided to chase down Teach on a one-man raft and left the _Moby Dick._ Marco's frustrated, and has every right to storm off and sulk beside the fourth division commander's bedside.

The wanderer offers him a snack of badly toasted bread and dry corned beef. Despite his heavy mood, he accepts the makeshift breakfast.

"You found him." The wanderer nods in acknowledgement, sipping some water from a satchel. Marco heard from his brothers that the wanderer was the first on the scene, trying to staunch the flow by pressing against the wound and preventing anyone from removing the dagger until the doctors had arrived. The head doctor explains that for stabbings, the protruding object has to remain, otherwise blood would continue to flow and _flow and flow_

He finds an arm wrapped in gloves on his shoulder, the wanderer looking at him.

"He's going to _live._ " He says, as though it's really important that Thatch does so. He looks furtively at Thatch, who looks older than he usually is.

"I'm not losing a nakama like this." The wanderer mutters.

"If you consider us your nakama," Marco asks, "Why do you not join us?"

"I'm an unlucky wanderer."

"Bullshit. You have enough dumb luck to fill this ship."

"No." He says, and unlike all other times. he's hiding his face with his hair. "I'm unlucky to my nakama." He stares at Thatch. "Maybe that's why Thatch's like this." The wanderer stares at the opposing wall, his expression downcast.

"No, if not for you, our brother could have died." A voice comes out from behind them, and Izou, now with his full set of makeup on full display walks in. "You know how to handle stab wounds and stop bleeding. You also know how to allocate duties. You were able to get aid to Thatch in the shortest time possible, and you never took eyes off him even when it would have been better to arrest Teach on the spot. You prioritize the lives of others over yourself." He looks at the wanderer in a new light. What Izou says makes sense.

"I lost a nakama that way." The wanderer says tonelessly. "I didn't know what else to do. Why did Ace chase after Teach?"

"Pops' rules." Marco explains, remembering that this guy is a newcomer. "The leader of the division has to go after the person who harms his brothers. It's to dissuade others from doing the same."

"Pops was worried about Ace. With the new fruit, Teach may be too strong to handle for him alone. We don't even know what the devil fruit does-"

"-Yami Yami no Mi." The wanderer explains. "It's a fruit that sucks and destroys people. Drains people of their strength."

Marco starts. "You knew that fruit?"

"Teach tried to use it on me."

"Oh." Well, why didn't the wanderer die yet? Izou voices this question.

To their surprise, the wanderer _grins._

"I'll show you." He turns his glove inside out, to reveal tips of a grey material sunken into the seams of the glove.

"Seastone gloves. The navy uses it to line their money, but not enough to weaken a Devil Fruit user. My nakama decided to apply the same principles in making a weapon against Devil Fruit Users." He turns the glove back to its proper orientation. "However, it can't affect people in this form."

Somehow, the expression the wanderer wears makes it perfectly clear that the whole explanation is complete bullshit. Marco's really too tired to care; after all, his co-conspirator is lying unconscious on that bed _._

* * *

Thatch wakes up and he thinks that this must be some before-death hallucination.

His eyes are all wonky, because he sees the wanderer (both he and Marco decided on the name ages ago out of a lack of things to call him, and Coby's obviously a stupid name) conversing with something next to his bedside.

"Go, it's not his time yet-"

"Do you know the consequences of snatching a soul-"

"Yes I know. But that only applies for important souls to me. He's not that important." Aw. Did he really has to say that? Thatch feels mildly insulted, even if they _had_ only known each other for a couple of months.

"Not to _'you'_ but you continue to stay at his bedside for the last two days. Though you may be a bearer of the initial, that doesn't imply that you can order me around like this!"

"No, I can. I don't fear death."

"But you do for your nakama, which this person definitely is." Okay, no need for apology. Apparently the wanderer is trying to lie to himself, but _seriously?_ _Wanderer, you're not a very good liar at all aren't you?_

"I fear being alone more than being dead. I'm no hero"; he sighs, "I'm selfish. I want to protect my nakama, but I can't see them yet. Away with you." The figure scowls.

"Fine. I will come calling anyway."

"It's a matter of when." With that, the figure departs in a wisp of smoke, while the wanderer is left staring emptily into the wall. He raises his hand as though reaching for something, and lowers it as though it doesn't exist anymore.

Okay, so the wanderer can call on _Death_. And dismiss him. Or scare him away.

Thatch could feel the darkness stretching him down down down beyond the abyss, and he's not sure if he would ever wake up again. His last conscious thought, before he finally sinks, is _What is he?_

* * *

While Luffy is busy fighting alongside his nakama (how curious. To use the same reference to his crew.), Ace is watching his brother closely. He recognises some of the movements that his brother makes as being similar to the wanderer's.

But the wanderer's fighting style uses bo-staffs, similar to what the navigator carries. The use of multiple weapons is present in both the swordsman, and the kicks the chef makes, if more precise and less flamboyant, could have echoed one of the fights he had with the wanderer.

He doesn't like what this implies.

_Flashback:_

_"Most of my nakama have vanished beneath the depth of the waters." The wanderer notes as he nurses a cup of water, "I would only see them again once a certain person arrives._

_"Certain person? Can't you just drag the guy over?" Ace replies as he tosses his weapon aside. Every attempt he makes to move closer to the wanderer out of sparring, the wanderer retreats a few steps back._

_The wanderer shakes his head ruefully._

_"I can't rush him, it's up to him to decide how he wishes to make his journey. I really wish that the guy before him hadn't destroyed half my home island in his own quest; it would make things more difficult for the next guy." Once again, the wanderer is stepping around specifics. It's_ so _annoying._

_"It's really been a long time since I saw them. I can't wait to see them again." He says, and smiles widely._

He compares the smile to what his brother wears constantly. What event could have occurred such that this wanderer doesn't smile anymore?


	3. Conversations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thatch handles the less serious part about getting stabbed in the back. The wanderer has his first conversation with Whitebeard.

Everyone: Thanks for the interest! This is probably my most popular story thus far, and is encouraging my foray into the One Piece archive.

* * *

Marco's sitting next to Thatch; the fourth division commander's lying prone on the infirmary bed, and Marco can't help but think _Thank you whatever is above up there_ because seriously? Thatch just woke up and is now asking for food and that's a huge relief in more ways than one.

Thatch was, however, highly dissatisfied with what was on offer.

"Alright," the nurse spoke, "Even if the dagger Teach," She spat out the word as though it was poison, "used was not poisoned, it did strike too near your stomach for comfort. Hence," She pulled out a bag full of some mockery of food, "We would be restricting you to some easily digested foodstuffs."

"Oh hell no!" Thatch tries to argue valiantly, "It didn't touch my stomach, and I don't see why you have to restrict my intake of alcohol and sweet stuffs."

The nurse arches an eyebrow, and relays at least two hours worth of lectures on gastrojejunostomy and the use of the gastric tube that Thatch can and will attempt to forget because he really can't appreciate the resulting mental scarring. However, he will probably hold his sister in awe for the use of medical explanations as a weapon of persuasion.

While Marco is busy dissuading Thatch from going after more tasty (if less healthy) morsels, he's watching the wanderer stride back and forth on the Moby Dick. (He's used to multi-tasking like this. There's too many things going on board the vessel for him to be too focused on one thing at one time.) The wanderer hasn't claimed credit for anything. If any, he thinks that Thatch's near death experience is his fault, and thus he stays away from Thatch when he's awake.

Thatch thinks it has something to do with the figure he saw the wanderer speaking with. Now the wanderer is alone, but at various times, he could see the wanderer's ears visibly prick up in response to something they can't hear.

* * *

Pops wants to see him.

"Ossan," he greets Whitebeard, eyes wide in astonishment. They have hardly talked to each other; the wanderer makes a point of avoiding conversation when possible, sometimes even disappearing if the crew is actively searching for him. It's no wonder that they haven't talked to each other before.

"Guararara!" Whitebeard laughs. It is not the first time the wanderer has heard him do so, though he has not seen Whitebeard since the War of the Best. He tries to muster up his best manners (painfully drilled into him by his long-suffering navigator, his weary mind reminds him) and says "I'm sorry."

Whitebeard gives him a grin as he lays a hand on the wanderer's head. It is meant as a comforting gesture; the wanderer flinches and fails to hide it. Whitebeard frowns.

"What's the matter?" He asks in a concerned voice. The wanderer attempts to stop his shaking, shaking hands. Focus. He must focus. This is important.

"May I ask a hypothetical question?" He has done this many times. Rarely has the subject matter been so personal, for he had personally encountered him, even if it were for a short moment of time. He wants to stop, for his soul is weary and in so need of rest. But he has to.

That person's life is at stake.

Whitebeard motions for him to go on.

"If you were to move on, how would you wish to do so?" In his mind, his former navigator would have thumped his head for the absolute lack of tact he has just displayed, despite having been coached for many a year. His sniper and doctor would have been chided alongside him.

Whitebeard looks at him strangely. It is a rather personal question. The wanderer would not fault him if Whitebeard chooses not to answer. He would have done the same, if he had been taught to be more cautious and less carefree.

Surprisingly, Whitebeard does give a answer.

"Guararara! I will go out fighting for my sons and daughters, of course!" The wanderer remembers he had done so. It is the same answer that he would have given. His shipwright would have added 'with a _Don_ ', but he is no longer with him.

All of them are no longer with him, and he has only himself to blame for that.

"I thank you for your answer." He will try to keep his manners in place, especially for a person he had respected in his youth. This is the courtesy one pays to their elders. Whitebeard is more than just a father to his sons. He had started the 'Silver Age of Pirates' just as Roger's words had done to 'the Golden Age of Pirates'. The words of those that die will live on.

_"Thank you all for loving—"_

Keep calm. _Calm!_ CALM! he fights off his inner struggle, and turns to leave, hoping to leave the conversation at that. Of course, things weren't so simple.

"Why would you ask that?" Whitebeard is suspicious. He has every right to do so, seeing that no one would start off with such a question to someone who is their superior.

"I lost my crew." His cook once told him that he could not lie to save his life. His ally tells him to always use some bit of the truth within the lie. He remembers this, as much as he remembers each of the singular aspects of his crew.

Already, some details are fading. He cannot remember how his swordsman used to laugh. Or some of his musician's jokes, as prevalent as they had during their journey together. The only constant is the passage of time, and the erosion of memories, akin to the travel of the boat across the waters, and the retreating coastline of his home island. What he can do—what he must do, is try to recall details of his crew members as many times as possible, so that he does not forget them.

"Oh?"

"They had tried to save me." They had failed, but that would not explain why he is still on the seas. "I remember them sometimes." More than that, he tries to incorporate their movements into him. He uses a staff rather than his fists, bringing his brother and navigator closer together than they have ever been. He learns to play a harmonica, because the violin and piano is too difficult for him to master. He can cook some broth now.

He knows that his survival is the embodiment of their intentions. Therefore, he will try to remember them by making sure that they live on in him. All of them, even his musician, were just too young to die.

"Then would you not join us? Be my son." He wants so badly to agree with this. He really wants to, but he _can't_ , not when so much is counting on what happens later on.

Maybe after this is over. Then, when he rests, maybe he can—

This is all wistful thinking. Where have all his dreams gone? Now ashes in the wind.

"How do you cope with your family leaving you?" He knows he's dealt with it badly. In fact, even _Ro-_ no he must not use their names, because he would seriously break down, and wouldn't _that_ lead to a whole lot of trouble for him.

Whitebeard looks at him seriously, similar to the way his crew had stared as he declared war on the government within his first year as a pirate.

"I drink sake." Whitebeard says, motioning the bottles of sake. "Then I talk to my other sons, because they are hurting just as much as I do, and I celebrate the fact that they had lived a good life, and those who are alive are still here." That was how he dealt with Ace's death.

He wants to ask a question, but he knows he can't. So he thanks Whitebeard for his answer, and leaves.

 _Whitebeard-ossan, what happens if there's **no one**_ _left then?_


	4. Those left behind

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Newgate and Marco talk about the wanderer's guilt complex. Ace thinks about those who are left behind. Two fight. A bowl of noodles starts talking.

"Shell shock." Pops comments as he and Marco spy on the wanderer.

"Guilt." Marco answers, remembering the sorrow-filled eyes when the wanderer brings up his lost crew. He had been spying on the two's conversation while on watch. The look that the wanderer bears is similar to what some of his crew members had borne after a large battle.

When one keeps their mind trapped on something, they can never move on. The wanderer is stuck in the past, haunted by the spirits of his former crew and the heavy weight of his guilt sinks heavily on him. If Pops and the Whitebeard Pirates had been more ruthless, he would have abandoned the wanderer on the closest isle already, for there is no use for a crew member who lets his memories overtake himself.

"The next time we go ashore, talk to him." Pops asks, his face frowned in thought. "He's not willing to say anything to me. Perhaps someone who's better at discussing these issues should involve him." Thatch and Marco were often the ones to get new crew members to open up. With Thatch on bed rest (He should be, but Marco is highly suspicious of the shadow that had lurked in the kitchens while he was on watch duty), it's up to Marco to handle it.

He nods, thinking of how the wanderer had acted on board the _Moby Dick_ during his first days. He had startled when some of his brothers had thrown things at him, and woe betide the one who had surprised him, for the wanderer would yell at him. Of course, he would apologise afterwards, but that's not the issue here.

Some never recover from shell shock. He thinks that whatever problems the wanderer has, the wanderer would try to keep to it himself.

He turns and opens the door, heading towards the infirmary. He needs to discuss with Thatch on how they would approach this.

* * *

_"But I have no one else to rely on!" Young Luffy screams, his desperate loneliness shining through.  
_

_"I can't go back to Foosha Village...And I hate the mountain bandits...! If I didn't chase after you, then I'd be alone...And being alone hurts worse than pain!"_

"Luffy?" Ace asks, as they squat down at a corner where Luffy's crew can't hear them. The wind is unusually strong, hence most have their collars up as shields against the wind. The rest of the crew is secluded to one side, presumably to give him some space.

"Yes?" Luffy is digging his booger and flicking it against the wind. To Ace's disbelief, the booger flies off-tangent and lands squarelyon the cook's face, provoking a disgusted sound. The brush of wind against the whistling reeds almost makes the wind sound as though it is laughing.

"Do you remember what you said about why you didn't tell Bluejam about our treasure?" It is still painful and hard to think about how Luffy had continued to say nothing about the location of their stash, even if Ace had intentionally led Luffy into routes where even he would not dare to tread and had only known Luffy for a few days. Luffy's inclination to make friends with those around him will kill his brother one day, he's sure.

Luffy's face is dragged into a pained expression, and Ace immediately regrets asking it. Mentioning the incident would bring up the memories of their third brother. Sabo's death was much more painful to Luffy, as his little brother was too young to see his friend go so early in his childhood.

"Do you have people to rely on now?" Luffy's eyes are glistening, and his snot is dripping. Ew. Stupid little brother. Nonetheless, Ace grins in relief.

"Yeah! I have you, Zoro, Nami, Chopper, Sanji, Usopp, Sanji!" Luffy chimes, "And Grandpa and Shanks and Makino—"

_He should be alright. He has so many people to rely on, and I don't think any of his crew would betray him. He is loved._

_Am I?_ He thinks of Pops' concern when he had left to chase after Teach. Marco's talk about how Pops treats his crew as his family, and calls them by such, and how Teach had betrayed that trust burns him more than what his Devil Fruit does. Thatch's jokes as they cheerfully showed Big Mom who was in charge on Fishman Island. Haruta's persistent pranks of the whole boat. Jozu's serious face as he played chess against Vista, who's probably throwing petals everywhere even now on the _Moby Dick_.

What would happen if he dies? Would they mourn him? Will those he had harmed both directly and indirectly curse his existence, the same way he curses his biological father? What happens to those he leaves behind?

* * *

_Meanwhile..._

"Oi, marimo!"

"What, shitty cook!"

"What was that for!"

"What are you talking about?"

"You deliberately did that! Swerving the booger onto my face?"

"You probably deserved it."

"What? Shitty moss-head, you are asking for it! _Diable Jambe_!"

"Now now, our captain is bonding with his brother. Don't fight!"

"Ow!"

"Your finger-flicks are as divine as ever—Ouch!"

"She's right you know? We don't usually get to see our captain's relatives outside of a fight. We should probably leave them to it. Now look, you're the strategist here, what are we to do?"

"I have a plan, but I would need to contact someone else. Now, where can I find good food on board that ship?"

* * *

"Aah~!" Thatch breathed in the sweet savoury fragance of his lunch. Ramen in a thick broth with a pork-bone base, with a garnish of spring onions. A hard-boiled egg sliced into two, with the egg yolk mixing with the soup broth such that the essence of the bone marrow could be tasted in one bite. He bit into the egg, savoring the meal that had required two hours of pestering from the cooks on duty and teasing of the nurses to allow this meal to slip past the head doctor's watchful eye. Bliss!

" 'scuse me. Excuse me!" Thatch looks around, searching for the owner of the voice. He had ignored it the first few times, thinking that it was probably from someone on deck.

"Oi! Shitty bastard!" Was it the wanderer? The voice was definitely too low to be Marco. Then again, the wanderer had such a high-pitched voice, so maybe his throat was sore.

"Pompadour!" Okay, that's it. Bad enough that he was being insulted, but his hairstyle in particular? He was still sore about how the nurses had forbidden hair products in the infirmary. He tossed his limp hair sideways, and narrowed his eyes on the sudden movement at the corner on his eyes. He focused.

"Oh god." Thatch stared. "I'm high. I'm _so high."_

"On what? It must have been difficult to sneak things into the infirmary. I would know." His food is talking. _His strips of cabbage have managed to form a mouth that is flapping at him, and one of the cooked eggs, deeply fried and most definitely alive is looking at him. Even the ramen seemed to have formed some kind of forelock. I must be on some kind of drug or something._

"Oi, are you paying attention to me!" The cabbage barks angrily at him, and the curly _uzumaki_ fishcake currently acting as his food's eyebrow is raised at him in impatience.

"I need to talk to someone about my Captain. Scar under eye, huge appetite for meat, answers to the name of—" The talking bowl of noodles pauses, before continuing, "Wait, scratch that. Laid back personality, probably just reached your ship. Heard of him?"

_Oh god. Is he referring to the wanderer? A bowl of food is asking for the wanderer? A BOWL OF RAMEN IS SEARCHING FOR THE WANDERER AND HAS EYES ON OUR SHIP?_

Thatch promptly fainted.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: I was attempted to add on and increase the word count.  
> However, ending on that note was just too entertaining to continue on as another paragraph


	5. Future

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Whitebeard Pirates are talking to a bowl of food. Education is neither acquired or even meant. The wanderer heals somewhat. A crew plans for the future

When Marco reaches the infirmary, his nose is assaulted by the smell of disinfectant and food. He laid his face on his palm in recognition. Thatch, a cook by trade and a gourmet by habit had been dismayed by the light broth the medics on board had provided as part of his daily meals. It was only a matter of time before a bowl of some delicacy made its way onto Thatch's table, regardless of the disapproving glares the head doctor had gave.

Marco smirked, and open the door, expecting to see two things: A bowl of food on the table, probably ramen, and Thatch scarfing down the rest, irregardless of the fact that he would probably vomit it out.

Marco did indeed see two things: Thatch lying on the bed, and...

"WHAT THE HECK!" Some figure had arose from the food. With a head made of syrup covered by noodle-hair and egg-eyes, it was as though a sea monster had made love with a spaghetti god. Marco stared at this bizarre personification of Thatch's ill-gotten gain with horror-filled awe.

"Oh good," He heard Thatch utter. "I'm not dreaming then."

"OI! Will you listen to what I have to say or not!" The cabbage leaves opened in a _snarl_ , "I'm wasting my time here!"

"YOU HAVE NO RIGHT TO SAY THAT!" Marco yelled back, as Thatch pushed himself away from the food monster. "What are you anyway?" He collapsed on the bed, with Thatch leaning against him for support, despite any protestations to the contrary.

"I," the figure _fluttered_ his eyelash, "am the God of Food."

There was an awkward silence, as both Marco and Thatch stared at this self-proclaimed divine spirit. Marco could feel his eyebrow visibly twitch in irritation, both at the pomposity of the being's manner as well as disgust at this bizarre and unexpected occurrence.

"LIKE HELL YOU ARE!" Both of them yelled at the mysterious monster.

"Anyway, our captain's on your ship, so me and the other crew members decided to give a message to him through me." He arched an _naruto_ eyebrow at them. "Tell him that we know what he's trying to do..."

"Wait wait, why does our pet wanderer think you're dead?" Time to ask questions. This may be helpful in getting their wanderer to open up. Surprisingly, the _naruto_ eyebrow went down, and the figure seemed to slump.

"...Because we kind of are? Anyway, because of all that chaos that went down on Dawn Island..." The 'God of Food' scowled, "Our captain's a ball of guilt and anger, and he thinks the rest of us are hallucinations and **just** _wouldn't listen_ , even if his first mate's been going through hell trying to talk to him. Both Nami-chan-" At that point, the broth appeared to form the shape of a heart in the yolk currently playing the part of his eyes, "And Usopp" the heart image disappeared, as the figure returned to its usual scowl, "wanted me to ask you to help us act as middlemen."

"...And why should we believe you?" Marco asked, ignoring the disappointed glare that Thatch gave him. Their wanderer was under the impression that his crew mates were dead. This figure that claimed to be his former crew mate must be off his rocker if he were to think that any -

"Because he's the former Pirate King. Well, before that no-good idiotic brat decided to destroy half of Raftel and kidnapped our captain along with him." There were so many different things wrong with that statement. Former Pirate King? Their wanderer was floating in a barrel dressed only in a worn cloak, a red cardigan and pants. Granted, the cardigan was probably intentionally left unbuttoned, and both the gloves and cloak appeared well-cared for but still, who ever heard of a Pirate King dressed in that? Furthermore, he said Raftel...

"You mean Gold Roger?" Thatch's voice held an astonished tone to it. It was twenty-five years since they had met the late Pirate King, but Marco could still remember how Roger had laughed at everything, wondered at everything, and had this sense of camaraderie that made most who met him like him, even as he continued to incur the wrath of the World Government.

"Yeah. We only managed to get here a few years earlier, but Robin-chwan thinks that our captain probably met Roger before he died, because there are signs that our captain wasn't planning to escape Raftel." The ramen head explained impatiently. "But the more important thing is, we discovered what our captain's planning to do. Please tell him that we will stop him if he continues to-" The ship rocked, and the figure stopped, hissed before collapsing back to the bowl, turning back to a stale bowl of ramen.

Marco took one look at it. He carried the bowl, and without a word, upended its contents into the toilet bowl, and flushed it. Thatch did not say anything, but a tear went down his cheek, the epicure in silent mourning of this barely touched gastronomic delight.

* * *

"Liar." The wanderer glared at him. Marco barely resisted the urge to punch him in the face for the insult. Instead, he silently noticed the twitches in their wanderer's forehead, the tightly grasping fists that implied an impending explosion. In fact, those were the hallmarks leading up to an inevitable Ace-involved fight.

"We're not." Marco uttered calmly. They were in the bar next to some members of Ace's division, Marco having dragged their wanderer over under the pretext of going out for a drink.

"How could you have spoken to my crew?" The wanderer continued to utter in a toneless voice. It was as though all the attempts at involving him in their conversations had done nothing to improve his surly temperament towards the matter of his crew mates. Thatch could have been impressed at his stubbornness, were he not frustrated by his obstinate stance.

"Well, they did mention the fact that there was an incident at Dawn Island." Marco intentionally dropped the name, hoping to get a reaction. He wasn't disappointed.

"WHAT WOULD YOU KNOW ABOUT DAWN ISLAND!" The wanderer screamed at him. "IT'S NONE OF YOUR BUSINESS!" _And here we are at the root of the problem,_ Marco thought as he watched the wanderer raked his hands through his hair. The term _survivor's guilt_ had nothing on the expression the wanderer now. The wanderer continued to cradle his head in his hands, tremendous sobs heaving through his entire body. Marco gave a look towards Dusty, a member of the second division, now on standby for this very reason.

"Hey, would you listen what I have to say?" Dusty had worked with the wanderer a few times, and was thus familiar with his sudden mood swings. As a result, the number of sobs reduced, though it was no less loud in scale.

"Before Commander Ace, we had another commander. His name was Postumus. He sailed with us for over ten years." Dusty began, watching him. "He was a really good captain to us, doing some of our chores, and always the last to retreat in battle. We liked him a lot, because he was always looking out for us."

_Flashback_

_"Marines!" The emerging figure of a Marine officer caused those on watch to throw up an alarm as the land crew quickly packed up._

_"Die, Pirates!" A young Akainu charged towards them, firing blasts of magma at the retreating pirates._

_"Oi, we didn't do anything!" Dusty yelled back, as he continued to race towards the forest. Postumus signalled for him to hurry up, and he replied with a grin as one of the whores that Dusty had asked out for the night made her way towards the town for safety._

_Akainu stared at the whore, lips pursed. Then, he lifted his arm towards the whore, and uttered "Dai Funka! (Great Explosion!)"_

_The whore screamed as she held still with fear, her wide eyes staring at her incoming doom. Luckily for her, Postumus slammed down on her, forcing both to fall onto the floor as the blast shot past them._

_"Oi, she's only just doing her job! What are you trying to do!" He heard Postumus shout back as the rest of the crew continued their descent through the forest._

_"With these whores around, there will always be more of you! To get rid of this great evil known as piracy, even those who aren't involved in piracy themselves must be dissuaded from pursuing business with pirates!" He could hear Akainu shout back, even as he heard Postumus race through the forest in the opposite direction._

_What is the commander doing...He wondered as they finally made their way out of the forest. Just as the last of them emerged out towards the port, where a small boat would take them to the main ship, an explosion rocketed through the forest, sending cinders everywhere._

_"Commander Postumus!" His voice felt hoarse with emotion. But he could only retreat with his face filled with tears as they left their commander behind._

"After that, none of us were really willing to call another person our commander." Dusty said, as he lowered his hat over his eyes. "Even when the Spade Pirates joined, not many of us were willing to discuss this issue with them. But Commander Ace disagreed with that."

_Flashback_

_"I kinda know what your former Captain was thinking." Ace said as he sat down next to Dusty. "I would have done the same thing as well-"_

_"-He died, Ace." Dusty said, eyes brimming with tears. "He died, just because of a whore. Who cares about them? But Commander Postumus didn't even hesitate to protect her, even when she had treated him so flippantly a day earlier-"_

_"...I don't think it was just because he was trying to defend her. You said he headed in the opposite direction? I would have chosen to protect my crew, even if it meant sacrificing myself instead." Ace muttered as he twirled his hat._

_"He's right!" One of the former Spade Pirates groaned, "You know this idiot formed a whole wall of fire just to ensure that we can retreat while he held the line! Shitty idiot, but our captain just the same."_

_"Oi, say anymore and his head would explode with pride! This guy can actually do so, he's all fire and all. Hahaha!" The whole cabin fell to pieces, highly entertained by the pun._

"The next day, we decided that we wanted him as Captain, and naturally so did his former crew. Teach could also have been a Commander too, but he always kept himself out of conversations." He pursed his lips at the reminder of the traitor. "We should have expected something. But well, I think I can understand what drives a Captain to care for their crew members. I can also tell you this: Even if there were mountains and oceans to cross, nothing would stop a crew from getting to their Captain. Ask the Spade Pirates if you don't believe me; they attacked Pops just to get back Ace even if they knew they would lose." Dusty ended with a thumping of fists on the table.

The wanderer looked down in his cup. He was silent, even as Dusty gave him a friendly nudge.

"...I wish they had not tried to rescue me." The wanderer swirled the drink in his cup, as Marco tried to hear his softly spoken words. "I was about to die soon. There's no reason for them to sacrifice themselves for a dead man."

"I've lost subordinates myself; sometimes I remember them, and toss a drink into the sea in memorial. However, I know that they wouldn't have wished for me to obsess over their deaths." Marco offered, throwing a glance over at Curiel and Haruta cheering Vista on as he continued his drinking contest with Atmos.

"So, keep calm and carry on?" The wanderer commented.

"Yeah." Marco eyed the wanderer, who appeared to be in better spirits. "I won't ask you to join the crew yet; but at least give a name that doesn't sound like a lie?"

"Coby _is_ a real name; he's one of my friends!" The wanderer retorted. "And besides, I can't give others my real name."

"Why not?" Dusty asked in mild amusement. "People looking for you?"

"Shishishi!" The wanderer chuckled, "It's a secret! But how about...Goku?"

"Goku huh?" Marco scratched his chin in thought. Goku...where had he heard that name before. Ah. That character? "It fits."

"Shishishi! I went by plenty of other names before, but Goku's my favourite!" the wanderer scratched his head in embarrassment. "Anyway, let's party!"

"YOSH!"

* * *

The cook, for lack of a better word, was brooding in his chair. While the archaeologist had reported that their captain was happier than before, drinking with the other members of the Whitebeard Crew, the navigator was hesitant on whether the now named 'Goku' had decided to pull out of the foolhardy plan that he's got his mind on.

Their captain was a stubborn bastard; even after he lost his brother, none of them had known how he felt until the days after Dressarosa, when his _other brother_ came back from the dead. Their captain had been content to let the wounds (metaphorical, as if their ship doctor wouldn't notice literal ones) fester until their helmsman managed to talk some sense into him. Honestly, they didn't even know that he _had_ a brother, not until said brothers talked to them!

Speaking of which, he was on babysit duty today. While Luffy was merrily having a grand old time feasting on the royal banquet, the swordsman had decided to have a fight with his counterpart.

Of course, it was a one-sided contest.

"SHITTY SANDSTORM!" the winds continued to merrily flip the sword away from Zoro's reach, one handle at a time. While Zoro raged and cursed, the cook face faulted as the gusts of desert air continued to juggle Kitetsu and a few other items. Of course, Wado Ichimonji wasn't touched (Zoro would probably have put in a lot more effort, and his counterpart wasn't cruel enough to steal this sword), and Zoro continued to use his sword to slash blindly in an attempt to remove his sword from the moving cyclone's strong grasp.

"Hahaha!" He could hear his own counterpart laugh, "The wind's on my side on this! Serve you right! Shitty Marimo!" While his counterpart was trying to make sense of the idea of Sanji both praising and insulting him in the same breath, Zoro took the opportunity to rip Kitetsu away from the sandstorm's grasp, hurriedly binding it to his waist.

"Be careful of the sandstorms! They've been known to carry people off!" Vivi-chan (Ah, delightful sweet girl. How he missed her so much!) commented as Zoro irritably bashed Sanji's head with the handle. As the two resumed their usual fight, the cook leaned back (as much as he was able to anyway) and admired the utter irony of having one's weapon stolen away from one's self by one's self.

Ah, he wondered. What would the archaeologist make of this?

* * *

Well then. The archaeologist watched members of the Revolutionary Army dash on board the _Liberty,_ Dragon's flagship. She knew that Sabo was on board, charting the progress they were making in Centaurea. By Enies Lobby (she couldn't help but feel her non-existent mouth smile at the thought), they would have managed to raise a successful rebellion there.

Now, she knew that Sabo and her Captain was close. She had also known through their two years separation, that Sabo was willing to do anything for his brothers. Would Sabo be wiling to bring the Revolutionary Army on Ace's side? Or would he be more willing to take a backseat role until an opportunity occurs?

It's only a matter of time. Much to their regret, Blackbeard had failed to fall prey to their numerous attempts at getting rid of him permanently. From sea storms to exploding gunfire, it was as though Teach was always lucky to survive, even when some of his crew mates were heavily injured. Their sniper was still sore about how Teach continued to escape his grasp.

Maybe it's the will of the 'D'. How mysterious that initial is, even after Raftel...

Aah, no time to continue recollecting. Now, what was in that article? And how could she put forth a similar paper? She knew it had to do with Ace's execution at Marineford, and the deaths of Whitebeard and Ace by Blackbeard and Admiral Akainu...

Idea. She could roll with that.

* * *

A/N: Now, what could Future!Robin be possibly thinking? Sanji, Sanji, tut tut tut...

 


	6. Events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Goku shows off some of his skill. A bartender always keeps the secrets of her customers, because there are only two people who's confidentiality are necessary in their line of work. Shanks thinks things are always going to go to plan. Whitebeard and Goku beg to differ.

"It's the Ching Pirates!" The Ching Pirates were a notorious group that had been raiding one of Whitebeard's Territories. Boasting a crew of 68 men on board the _Cheng Ho_ , their leader was reputed to have been a fan of Kaido. Now, she had struck out on her own in a bid to impress upon him her importance and entry into his ranks.

For Marco, Goku and some of the second division, it was good practice.

"Prepare to board!" For a crew like the Whitebeard Pirates, who were more reliant on their men to seize the boats rather than maneuvering of their ship, it was a better option for them to board rather than to fire upon the richly laden ship. Furthermore, the _Cheng Ho_ boasted an impressive booty, having raided some of the tribute-bearing ships travelling towards Mariejois. Losing it by firing canons were a waste compared to the possibility of gaining some more treasure.

Dusty had acted as advance guard by jumping off an unmarked ship right into their midst, cutting down the helmsman as well as the look out. The branch ship on the other hand, had flown black flags, fooling those on deck. This allowed the branch ship to sail on starboard side, close enough to lower planks for the rest of the second division to start boarding.

Of course, it was then did they flew Whitebeard's flags.

"Surrender your booty, and we'll leave your ship afloat." Judging from the defiant cries, they were both unwilling to surrender and ready for a good fight. Dusty grinned, fingers itching for his twin pistols. Due to Ace's absence, the second division had been suspended on ship raids, consigned to maintenance duty on board the main ship. However, both Marco and Whitebeard had decided to take the boys out on a raid before they were to meet Shanks.

"Pistol!" Dusty heard Goku's yell reverberate below deck. Like Dusty, Goku had been assigned to take down the main combatants of the fight, ostensibly to earn some experience. Unofficially, there was a betting pool on how competent Goku was at raiding ships. Some of the second division felt that as Goku could fight without Ace holding back, he had to be on the same level as Ace. Others were more of the opinion that Goku's strength was reliant on the elbow-length seastone gloves he wore, and its effects on Devil Fruit users.

When Dusty finally finished off the first mate he was fighting, he decided to take a look down below. Ching Shih, had a bounty of 73 million bellies. While it was decidedly mediocre in comparison to any of the division commanders, it was still higher than the average non-New World Pirate, and Dusty was slightly worried for the untried wanderer.

Once he descended below deck, his thoughts stuttered to a halt as he inspected the carnage. Nearly all of those below were left unconscious or tied up, while Captain Ching was shivering as she tried to back away from the slowly advancing Goku, who looked almost bored with her.

"Monster..." She whispered, as the wanderer appeared to emit some sort of strength behind his glare. Ching's head fell sideways as froth accumulated at her mouth, the woman sinking into a dead faint.

"Conquerer's Haki?" Dusty whispered, dumbfounded.

"Ah. That's a secret." Goku held a hand to his lips. "I forgot." Dusty stared at the wanderer, who was now munching on some of the meat that had been found in the pantry. Well, had. Most of the meat was gone.

"What happened to it?" Said one of his brothers, inspecting the kitchen. "I could have reckoned that they were headed towards the island three days away!" Dusty eyed Goku suspiciously. On one hand, it was not like Goku had been a constant raider of the _Moby Dick's_ pantry. On the other hand, he was still munching on _something_.

"Why are you looking at me?" Goku seemed to catch on to the glares that some of the hungry pirates directed towards him. "It's not my fault! I didn't touch anything." Yet there was a noticeable bulge near his waist. Dusty raised an eyebrow.

* * *

Within two years of the bar's official opening, one Monkey D. Garp was officially blacklisted from the shop (as had been done in so many areas) due to causing "irreparable property damage" and "public disorder". Unofficially, Garp was told to tone down and was often allowed in outside of operating hours. Merry always had a soft spot for the old man for praising her tea.

Such as now, for example.

"GARP!" One of the waiters fell over in shock as the Den Den no Mushi screeched out Sengoku's harsh tones. Garp continued to laugh, irrespective of the angry motions that the snail was making as the Fleet Admiral continued to scold the Vice Admiral.

"—And another thing! The world government had decided to increase Straw Hat Luffy's bounty to three hundred million bellies as a result of his assault on Enies Lobby! Why didn't you arrest him!"

"Ah Sen-chan! It wasn't my fault, I fired my ultimate iron cannon ball and managed to get a few hits on him, but he was too fast for me. Bogard should have sent you reports on how that ship flew away, it's not like I could handle it!" Garp chortled, as he gulped down another cracker.

"It's precisely because of that flying ship that the Elders held back on suspending you!" Sengoku shouted back. "Anyway, I think you would like to know this." Garp's face grew morose as he quietly heard the words relayed over the secure connection.

"Is that the case? Understood." Garp's expression bore a serious look that did not fit his previous mood. "I will report to headquarters later. Make sure you secure 'that' for me." He placed the receiver back onto the Den Den No Mushi, before pushing his head back in his hands.

"Is there anything wrong?" Merry adopted her most soothing tone as she retrieved a cup of chrysanthemum tea. "You look sad..." Merry hated to see Garp's melancholy, a look that ill-fitted his normally cheerful face.

"Ah, my idiotic grandson got himself captured." Garp rubbed at his eyes.

"Straw Hat Luffy?" Merry's hand trembled as she spoke. "I thought he managed to escape you! That's what all my customers say."

"No no, Luffy's alright. It's Ace."

"Ace?" Merry echoed. "Portgas D. Ace?"

"The very same." Garp gloomily said. "Apparently some no-name pirate turned him over to the Marines in exchange for a position as one of the Shichibukai. The very same one that also happened to be a former members of the Whitebeard Pirates; the Elders think they would be able to reclaim some of Whitebeard's territories." Merry lowered a finger to her chin in thought, but her hand ceased to shake.

"But isn't Whitebeard one of the more moralistic pirates? Shouldn't the marines pursue people like Kaido the Beast or Big Mom instead?"

"Whitebeard's famous enough such that the Marines would receive a boost in morale." Garp explained as he received the cup of tea. "Furthermore, even if he cares for his subordinates, he has angered plenty of people in the World Government. For example, many of those who want products from Fishman Island have to pay his people tariffs in order to acquire it."

"But wouldn't an even higher level of tariffs be placed by the World Government if the Marines were to take control over it? Furthermore, even if Whitebeard wasn't there, wouldn't the other Yonko try to claim it as their territory as well?" Merry frowned in thought. Garp scratched his head.

"Well, they are hoping for the former case. Products such as pearls and fish only found in the deep sea are popular in certain areas." Merry scoffed.

"You mean slaves. I know that much." Merry huffed. "So it's the World Government and not the Marines who wish it."

"Sengoku was complaining about it too! Says that any outcome of it would be bad for both parties except in the best of scenarios, and unlike Kaido or Big Mom, using Ace as bait ensures that Whitebeard would appear at Marineford. So we either have to toughen up Marineford's defences and ...execute Ace in public, or imprison him privately in Impel Down." Merry interlocked her fingers.

"Then the former would be better. After all, what the government needs is a public spectacle to show the might of the Marines. Furthermore, by executing Ace and luring Whitebeard would lead to a double whammy for one of the Yonko. However, Impel Down is more secure." A choked sob came from Garp, and Merry stopped talking.

"I-It's a-all my fault!" Garp burst out. "If only I hadn't taught them better, then I wouldn't have to see my own grandson—" Without a word, Merry moved a hand to gently rub the head of the Vice Admiral in sympathy. _For a grandfather to see his grandson die, and do nothing to stop it because of his job...It is a pity for me to witness this._

She glanced at a photo. _Marines or Pirates, all of them are children of the sea? What's so different between the two? Was it not once said, that all children of the sea are born of saltwater and live by their own code of honour? Where is the justice in making a person pay with their lives and dreams? What is justice in this world but the orders set down by a corrupt government with no sympathy for the public?_

She continued to sing softly, an East Blue lullaby that she had painstakingly learnt. They stayed in the bar for over an hour, before Garp abruptly woke up with a snort, thanked her for the tea before going out. Merry looked at the clock.

"Ro, we'll close down for the night now." The waiter breathed a sigh of relief, already swaying on his feet. Merry shook her head in wry amusement at her employee before pulling down the shutters and stowing the stools back onto the bar. The waiter tried to help, but Merry had pushed him back to the sleeping quarters with a quick smile. Soon, she could hear quiet snores emanating from the room.

Merry tiptoed into the backroom, shutting the door behind her, before pulling out the Den Den No Mushi that Garp had used earlier. She dialed, and lifted the receiver to her ear.

"Hello? This is Merry. I would like to place an order for a shipment..."

* * *

Shanks thought it was a good idea to warn Whitebeard. Thus Rockstar was given the unfortunate duty of delivering a notice of his arrival. Having arrived on the _Moby Dick,_ he felt it prudent to release a bit of Haki. A slight bit should be enough.

Still, he managed to knock out the majority of those along his path towards Whitebeard, warming the liquor-soaked cockles of his alcohol-laden heart. He counted that as a win.

"Excuse me." He courteously bowed towards Whitebeard, "Since this is an enemy's ship...I kinda made a bit of a threat." He could practically hear the hisses of the commanders behind him. Well, it didn't hurt to be too menacing. He was after all another Yonko, and not their ally.

"The wound I got from that guy aches whenever I look at your face." The other Yonko replied. Ooh, was he getting weaker? There seemed to be more tubes connected to that guy every time they both met. Shanks recalled the time when Roger and Whitebeard had their 'rituals' (aka engaged in a fight), and smirked inwardly. It's hard not to respect the guy who fought your captain on equal ground after all. Though, Roger definitely beat him in the abilities department when it came down to hand to hand combat.

"I bought the healing water. I have no intention to fight." Shanks replied, as he towed the enormous bottle of sake. The sad thing was, it was unlikely to get another bottle this size so soon; most wine bottles weren't made for Whitebeard's height and strength, and it looks like they would have to take another trip to West Blue to resupply on booze soon. Ah, Benn would handle it. "I'm here to discuss something with you."

"is that really something that comes out the mouth of a man whose Haki is in its full force? Bastard...Guararara!" Whitebeard laughed as he folded his arms. Shanks gave another smile, before turning towards the presence of someone with a powerful killing intent.

"Hey, Red hair, look what you've done to us!" The man was yelling at him. Ah, how nostalgic. The way they used to yell at each other across enemy ships...The first division member...

"Oh! You're Marco from the first division, right? Want to join my crew?"

"Shut up!" The man looked affronted. Ah, maybe it's a bit blunt to ask someone of the enemy then. But he could really use someone of Marco's calibre...in the heating department. It did get a bit cold on winter islands sometime. Meanwhile, Whitebeard managed to clear off his crew, leaving only a few members monitoring him.

"Booze from West Blue, huh...?" Whitebeard examined the bottle that Shanks threw at him. "The quality isn't very good, is it?"

"I've traveled through the seas of the world...But nothing is superior to the booze made with the water from my place. It's the booze from my hometown, drink up!" Shanks said, mildly insulted by the callous remark. He liked that booze! Whitebeard should try it before criticizing it!

Whitebeard tipped the bottle and swallowed a few gulps, before exhaling. "Not bad..."

"...Roger...Garp...Sengoku... There aren't very many people who know about the sea back then." Whitebeard casually remarked. Shanks felt a smile come to his lips in remembrance of the numerous conflicts that the Roger Pirates used to have with the two Marines, now a Fleet Admiral and a Vice Admiral.

"It's been 22 years...It goes without saying...!" Shanks replied. How time went! It seemed not so long ago when Roger had sailed against Shiki in that terrible storm. Well, not so terrible. After all, Shiki lost half his fleet while Roger only had a busted ankle. Bit of a no brainer how that went.

Hmm, wonder where Shiki went? After escaping from Impel Down, he had disappeared for twenty years. Probably started plotting and not carried out yet. Really, too much thinking won't accomplish much after all. Best to see how it goes along!

"You've climbed pretty far up the ladder, too..." Whitebeard suddenly said in a probable fit of nostalgia. "Before you were just a puny apprentice on Gol D. Roger's ship!" Ah, thinking about old Captain Roger too? Man, that really gave a headache, because you can't think too much about that guy or your head would explode. If Shanks hadn't known Garp even before the man started to chase Roger, he would have pointed at his captain to have been the reason why Garp was such a nutjob.

"It's strange how we met while trying to kill each other...Because we used to fight a lot with Roger's ship." Whitebeard grinned, "Did that funny red nose who was with you die yet?"

"...You mean Buggy?" Shanks brought up his fellow cabin boy and powder monkey, "It brings back memories...The day Captain was executed, we parted ways and that's the end of it." _Well, he did try to get Buggy on his side. He was sometimes really afraid for his old friend, even if Buggy didn't see it a such._ "Rumors has it that he's still a pirate." According to Lucky Roo, Luffy had defeated Buggy while starting out from his home island. Ha! 'Atta boy!

"Those 22 years passed by so fast..." Whitebeard began, as Shanks stopped his reminiscence of his fellow crew mates. "Many consider them as legends, even the duel between you and Hawkeye is still news to my ears." Oh come on, that was ten years ago, old man. Was it so hard to remember the young swordsman's request for a rival? Come to think about it, Mihawk had mentioned this interesting guy who was Luffy's first mate. To think he would encourage the guy who would defeat him! Hilarious, that!

"When you came back from East Blue with one of your arms cut off, everyone was surprised. What kind of enemy did you give it to...?" Ah that. Not one of his finest moments, to lose an arm to a Sea King. After Raftel, Sea Kings were the most popular meal for the Roger Pirates, owing to the numerous Sea Kings that had assaulted their ships on their journey there. Master Rayleigh was at the forefront of the 'Cull the Pesky Sea King' operation, and after losing an arm Shanks was inclined towards the consumption of the overgrown fish as well.

"...This?" _One day, I'll gather up my nakama and form a crew that's better than yours! And I'll become the Pirate King!_ What an interesting young boy to meet, especially when he was only intent on gathering more booze, dancing with Makino and having a grand old time.

"...I bet it on the "New Age"..." One day, there would be an overwhelming wave of the new generation, driven by his old Captain's words. They would open a new era of romanticism, and Shanks was counting on them to entertain himself in his old age. Whitebeard gave him a look of fond bemusement.

"As long as you don't regret it..."

"Whitebeard...I've gone through many battles," Time to get back to his original motive. "And suffered various wounds. But what aches now, is this one!" He pointed to the three scars across his eye. While the cuts were not as deep as to blind him, it continued to throb even after so many years, permanent enough to leave an etch on his face so prominent as to remain part of his jolly roger.

"This isn't a wound from an adventure." Shanks began, trying to relay the deep-seated worry he felt, "Nor did I get it from Hawkeye... Your man, Blackbeard Teach," How did he get an epithet again? Oh yeah, self-created. "Was the one who inflicted that wound!"

"And it's not like I was careless or anything. Do you understand what I'm trying to say here Whitebeard?" Shanks waved his arms in emphasis, "He's been waiting for a chance...He didn't take the position of a captain or made himself known." Like an insidious snake in the grass, Teach had been hiding himself in the shadow of Whitebeard's name. He didn't even earn himself a bounty...

"And now he's gained power...and started to take action. In the end, he'll be aiming for the top." And wouldn't that be a mess? Marshall D. Teach, King of Pirates and heir to his captain's place? The thought was like ashes in his mouth.

"With his own will! He'll eventually take over your position, too." Oh crap, angry Whitebeard. Shanks could just _feel_ the tension in the air.

"What do you want me to do? That's what you came here for, right?" Whitebeard replied, tightening his grip on his _bisento._

"Please, stop Ace!" Shanks had an inclination of who Ace _really_ was. Luffy's elder brother; except he knew that Luffy was an only child. Ace was adopted by Garp the Fist. Who could have suspected? Despite Ace's look, the Portgas wasn't even emphasised as comparison to the fire that trailed behind the son of his former captain. Yes, all of the Roger Pirates remnants suspected, but well, what's the benefit of revealing an itty-bitty detail like that? After all, it's Ace's decision to be known by Rouge's surname, right?

"It's not time for them to face each other!" After all, he can't help but feel worried for Ace on his own behalf. Such a polite young man with so much potential...Ace was only twenty after all. He shouldn't abandon his own life so freely.

"Leave Blackbeard Teach alone!" Already, Shanks could tell that his words had no effect on Whitebeard, as the Captain of the _Moby Dick_ had mocked him, restated the reasons for the importance of Ace to chase after a rogue member of his crew even if the man in question was not actually murdered...

"You can't live in this world without humanity and justice." Whitebeard roared. "It's my responsibility to give that stupid Teach a lesson about that! Do you understand, fool!" Shanks threw his cup aside as Whitebeard tossed the sturdy bottle of sake away.

"Then nobody will be able to stop this era of recklessness!" Shanks retorted as he reached for his sword.

"I HAVE NOTHING TO FEAR! I AM WHITEBEARD!" As the two clashed their weapons against each other, Shanks could feel the hairs on the back of his neck tingling in a rush of battle lust.

"Ahem. Red-haired brat." One gloved hand pulled him off, while a booted toe caused the two weapons to fly above the two captains. Both drew away, and looked for the interloper.

This was when Shanks' thinking apparatus derailed, and took a swan dive off the boat. He felt his jaw permanently dislocate itself, and a cool chill went down his spine as though he was back in the crazy weather island again.

"Calm yourself down. You'll causing the weather to go crazy." Whitebeard stared at their interloper in shock, his killing intent fading away. Shanks was still trying to reconcile the sight before him with what he was hearing. _How is he here?_

"YOU!" He pointed an accusing finger at the person responsible for interrupting the fight.

"Me. Brat." The last inhabitant of Raftel folded his arms. "It's Goku, by the way."

"Goku? You changed your name again?" Shanks felt his world view shift back to its orginal (lop-sided) position. All was right with the world again. Good. "What happened to Saru?"

"Got boring." Goku rubbed at his nose. "Now settle down, you two!"

"EHHHHHHHH!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Let's play What's the Reference and Compare and Contrast. Also, plot development! Shall we discover the origins of the Wanderer?


	7. Reveal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Canon gets disrupted. Goku's 'identity' is revealed. Busy people keep their minds off sensitive subjects. The subject of time travel is discussed with an idiot.

Marco had been informed of the...events on board the _Cheng Ho._ Sure, he suspected that Goku, who was a captain with a great deal of experience in the Grand Line would possess Conquerer's Haki. But still, he hadn't expected Goku to be of _this_ calibre.

Case in point, separating Pops' _bisento_ and Shanks sword with his (admittedly Armament-enhanced) foot while pulling them both away with almost next to no effort. Both he and Jozu had stared as he _lectured_ the Yonko on how they were driving the weather crazy, it's not good to fight so seriously and honestly, they didn't need to fight when both were concerned about Ace's safety.

Pops appeared to be surprised by Goku, though it was expected, seeing that even Marco, who was not involved in that conversation had not even noticed the wanderer until he was _right in front of them._ It was Shanks' reaction who was more interesting. First he had stared at Goku, pointed at him and called him a _brat_ , then regained his composure and then mentioned _yet another_ alias that the wanderer had went by.

Did he even have a name? Marco didn't think so, but judging by Shanks' reaction, both knew each other extremely well. Even if Shanks was surprised at the appearance of the wanderer on board the _Moby Dick._

Suddenly, the ramen being (Marco was determinedly not calling him that stupid epithet. He still had his dignity.)'s words came back to him.

_"Because he's the former Pirate King. Well, before that no-good idiotic brat decided to destroy half of Raftel and kidnapped our captain along with him."_

Wait, if Shanks recognised him, then surely he could confirm what the...being had said. Hmm. Maybe he should ask Shanks later—

"GOKU! How's been the last twenty-two years! Come sit down with us old folk!" Shanks could be seen excitedly patting (or rather hitting heavily) the wanderer on his back while pouring a cup for him. The wanderer seemed to be trying to edge himself further and further away from the redhead, only to be pushed back by Shanks.

Meanwhile, Pops appeared to be intent on questioning their wanderer, sitting himself back in his chair while gazing at him in the _I'm the captain_ way that made the Whitebeard Pirates unable to lie to him.

Marco really wants to know what's going on right now.

* * *

"Shanks, please stop." There are two people overlapped on him. One is of that cabin boy that had arrived on his island twenty-two years ago, still wearing the straw hat passed down by that idiot. The other is of _his_ Shanks, older and filled with less energy after a long battle. He shakes his head to clear his mind, before sipping some of the alcohol that Shanks had offered.

"Oi, geezer. Mind telling me why you're here?" _And not with our captain,_ Shanks seemed to silently add. Of course, Shanks was probably going to get his answer, Goku could and would never lie to him. The images seemed to have steadied, and he could focus on the empty space on Shanks' head.

"I was bored-"

"Bullshit." Shanks immediately replied. "You never left your position in who knows how long, so why would you do so? Even when Captain Roger wanted you to leave with us, you only stayed until we reached another island, and continued to stay there."

"Well then, maybe I left? It's entirely up to me where I choose to go." He answers back, because lies always contain a truth in them, as his former sniper tells him to do.

"Then you wouldn't mind telling me who you are then?" Whitebeard laid those trusting, god damned eyes on him. Eyes that were thankfully not like Edward Weevil (Which still brought chills to him. To think of...) but full of honest curiosity. It's refreshing to see such human eyes again.

He forces himself to relax. Breathe in, breathe out.

_(He knows inwardly that this curse shall fall on others should he allow the same events to occur. He is determined to end this cycle once and for all.)_

"I'm the former Pirate King. Roger was my successor." The wanderer says bluntly. His ears prick up at the intakes of breath that he could tell are from some of the Whitebeard division commanders. The crew on board the _Red Force_ is too far away to hear him; it's none of their business anyway, seeing that Shanks had his chance at glory already.

"The former Pirate King?" Whitebeard appears amused.

"He is!" Shanks said. "Gave us all a scare when we were off the coast of Raftel. Goku here stayed on Raftel for a pretty long time; twenty-five years?"

"Maybe." Shanks is giving far too kind an estimate. He thinks he's been there longer, but he can't tell, not without dates and calendars to keep track with.

"Guararara!" Whitebeard appears to find this amusing. "So your crew? I heard there was an incident in the infirmary from Thatch." Damn, thrice damn. He could practically hear Shanks' curiosity leaping out at him and waiting for its turn. He's not wrong.

"Oh? Do tell." Shanks comments, snickering.

"MARCO!" The first division commander comes running over, pretending that he wasn't eavesdropping on him with the rest of the commanders. He makes a pretty good liar, especially when he surveys the odd group with a raised eyebrow.

"Tell Shanks what you saw in the infirmary?" Whitebeard waves a hand at Shanks.

"The ramen started talking to us." His deadpan answer sends Shanks into tears of laughter as he continued to roll his body on the deck of the _Moby Dick,_ his fist banging on the floor. Hmm, he wonders how Whitebeard had dealt with that statement?

"WHAT THE...Dahahahahaha!" Shanks finally breathed in for air, "Sounds better than the introduction we had towards Raftel. All the Sea Kings started attacking us regardless of the Seastone coating on the _Oro Jackson_. You never told us how you did it?"

"Well it didn't help, did it? Your bloody fool of a Captain still managed to destroy half of my island through an _accident_."

"Guararara!" Whitebeard thumped his chest in agreement. "Sounds like something Roger would do!"

"Wait." Marco stared at Goku in disbelief. "So you're the actual Pirate King?"

"That brat took my title for a year before dying, didn't he?" Goku raised an eyebrow. "So I have to maintain my post for longer than I expected."

"So do you still have the _I-know-what's-going-on-in-the-sea_ ability?" Shanks interjected. "Because I would really want to know where Ace is right now."

"Ace is none of your problem, idiot!" Marco retorts, face turning red. "He's one of ours."

"Well, he's rushing to his death then. Because Teach is far too powerful for Ace to handle! Records of the fruit that Teach is reported to be using means that any Devil Fruit User, especially a logia one would have trouble dealing with!" Shanks argues, rising to his feet. "I won't see Luffy's brother dying in that sort of way!"

"ENOUGH!" Whitebeard roars.

"It's not some magical ability." Goku rolls his eyes. "But I have received a message from one of my contacts. He's been captured on board Teach's vessel." He had _not_ wanted to say that out loud. Oh _shit._ "Forget what I just said."

**"WHAT!"**

* * *

"Did he seriously say that?" The sniper said, shaking his head in disbelief. Of all things to blurt out...

"Yup." The swordsman replied. "Seems like after all these years, our captain didn't change one bit." The cook was on present-captain watching duty, so the swordsman simply lazed around for the first time in weeks. He's relaxing for once.

"Things are going to get interesting." The archaeologist commented, and the sniper could almost see the smile playing on her lips.

"This is just terrible." The sniper continued, wringing his hands. "If captain is going to continue down this path—"

"He _won't._ " The navigator crosses her arms. "Can't he see? We're changing things. Ace won't have to die—"

"At what cost?" The sniper says. "Look at Loguetown. If we hadn't intentionally weakened the Buggy Pirates, Buggy wouldn't have had the opportunity to attempt to execute our captain! You had to send that lightning strike down on the execution platform so that our past selves could have had the chance to escape! If we had not intervened in Alabasta, then Ace wouldn't have been caught so quickly! Things are changing so fast that we can't predict the consequences!"

"So do you want us to leave things as it be then?" The navigator shouts at him, and he could feel the storms roiling, a slight tingle running down the back of his neck. The navigator had never had a good restraint on her temper, and it shows. "Let everything happen once again? We went back to the past to rescue our captain, remember?"

"Honestly, are we even rescuing our captain? He's so..." They both fall silent as they watch the sullen Goku get shouted and screamed at on board the _Moby Dick_. The archaeologist carefully chooses her words, knowing of the sensitivity between the navigator and the sniper.

"He's broken. But they're handling it better than we are." The sniper hates to admit it, but the archaeologist is _right;_ Whitebeard quickly comes to an agreement with Shanks before the two separate, with Shanks sailing off to head off Kaido from making another attempt at Fishman Island. It seems that the exchange point is three days away from their third branch ship. Once they reached Teach's ship (because with their captain and his knowledge of the seas), Ace's rescue could be easy.

However simple it may sound, the archaeologist can't seem to reconcile that with the sinking feeling of uncertainty she faces.

* * *

Thatch unhappily looks at the infirmary, where more of the Whitebeard Pirates lay after a fight with Blackbeard.

Blackbeard is _strong_. He is also uninterested in them, judging by how quickly he _defeats_ the branch ship _._ With the awarding of Shichibukai status, Blackbeard wreaks havoc on the crew with the Marines cheerfully ignoring the onslaught as they continue to carry Ace to _Impel Down_. Thatch _should_ have participated in the attack, but because of the whole betrayal and stabbing and all, he was stuck at the infirmary while Marco is burying all the dead crew members. _Fuck._

Pops is enraged, and because Marco is busy dealing with all the shit that went down (no way he's ever substituting Marco, the man has to be a living _saint_ ) Thatch decides to talk to him, and Goku is most probably hiding in one corner, because that guilt complex would make him blame himself for blurting out where Ace was. Thatch was so going to take another shot at this after the hoo-ha that was Red-hair Shanks' 'revelation' of Goku's former Kingship status.

When he sees the scene, he finds that maybe no intervention was required after all.

Goku is talking to Whitebeard civilly, face bearing a wide smile as he pulls out every diagram that they have on Marineford and Impel Down and drawing up more if necessary. Sure, his drawing skills are absolutely _ridiculous_ (Thatch could not recognize that as a stick figure. He refuses to think that _that_ is a symbol of a person). But it was as though he knew how the security was like, from which guards were at Impel Down and their possible rotations, to how Sengoku was probably going to defend against them.

"Sengoku's expecting you to sail into port, so he will put this Encircling Wall around. Orders have been coming in for thick steel plates, so I don't think your earthquakes will have any effect on them. " Goku had arranged blocks in front of a structure tentatively titled Marineford which looks more like an accurate representation of an island. "All Admirals are in place, so expect Conquerer's Haki from them to defend against your tremors as well. Aokiji's going to freeze the place, so ships wouldn't able to get pass." He upends a bucket of ice water on the structure. "And Akainu will try to melt them once we leave our ships. We would also be attacked by cannons from the surrounding walls as well." He melts the ice by splashing some salt on them.

"Then we shall spread out the allied crew, so that they can't contain us at any point of time." Pops nods. "Furthermore, Sengoku and Garp would most likely be on the platform itself to guard Ace."

Pops is...not angry. He is _definitely_ pissed off, the only possible reaction when his son is captured, but it's the slow burning kind. In other circumstances, Thatch predicts that he would have marched off to Marineford and created a huge spectacle, but Teach's blasé treatment of their ship has made him determined to give the best 'fuck-off' that the Marines had ever received, because no one like that deserves Shichibukai status.

They'll regret ever considering the entrance of a backstabber into the position. Especially a man formerly from the Whitebeard Pirates.

"It'll be safer trying to get Ace from the ship transporting him from Impel Down to Marineford, but we don't know the schedules." Izo adds. "Our best bet is Marineford."

"So destroy the platform. Sengoku and Garp would be distracted, and getting keys is easy with Haruta here." Haruta grins in response to the praise.

"Get the key, destroy the platform, free Ace, then transport him from the destroyed platform through the Marines and into the harbour." Vista strokes his mustache. "Pops, if they're barricading the entrance, we might want to use coating."

"And get past the ships? Would they have any way of attacking us beneath the waters?" Asks Dusty, who's serving as temporary commander of the second division.

"As far as I can tell, they're relying on Aokiji to prevent us from escaping. Fire against Ice—"

"You are entirely discounting Akainu here." Goku shakes his head, and there is a tone of fear in it. "He's cunning enough to turn people against each other. Especially if he knows if I'm here."

"Why would your presence cause our honorary brothers to turn on Pops?" Haruta asks, and it doesn't look like she's the only one who has that question in mind. Goku shrugs.

"Former Pirate King, remember? Loads of people remember Roger. Once they find out who handed the position of 'Pirate King' to him, they'll be gunning for my head. If I'm seen together with you, several of those who fought Roger may accuse you of betraying them instead, Sir." Pops looks confused, but a moment later, makes an affirming sound.

"How do you know all of this?" Rakuyo asks. Judging by the looks Blenheim and Fossa gives the wanderer, it's clear they are in agreement. Unlike he and Marco, the trio had never interacted with Goku beyond fights involving the whole fleet. It's no wonder they suspect him; to them he's an unknown quantity with too many things hidden.

To their surprise, Goku doesn't look offended. In fact, he chuckles.

"...What can you say? First hand experience." It takes several moments for that to run through their collective minds.

"You mean..." Thatch can't process this. He really can't. "You've been in Marineford?" _Without being arrested?_

"Yeah. In my time the security was a lot lower, so I had time to explore, create some chaos and leave. Also, I've been through an execution myself." An awkward silence followed, as Thatch pondered the implications of that statement. Been through an execution? Did that mean seeing one of his close companions? Or an attempted execution of himself? Thatch couldn't tell, as Goku's face plainly said that it was an experience he didn't want to relieve ever again.

"Also," there was a dark look in Goku's eyes. "The Marines would most likely attempt for a hostage exchange. If it's Aokiji, he's probably telling the truth. If it's the others," he clenched his fist, "Don't bother. They're lying. I learnt that the hard way."

* * *

_"NO! NO! STAY BACK!" He continued to yell, even as the two guards continued to lower their blades. "DON'T YOU DARE DO THIS!"_

_"LUFFY!" his navigator screams as a Marine wrenches her hair away from her face and holds a knife against her throat._

_"NAMI!" his chef cries as he struggles against his bonds. The swordsman grits his teeth as he holds his wound close, but continues to bleed profusely from the side._

_"Straw Hat Luffy," the announcer continues, "Your age of piracy ends now. If you continue to resist, the rest of your crew members will die." Before his own eyes, he sees the knife cutting away at Nami's throat. He sees Zoro fall down, unlikely to get back up again. Already, Brook had been sealed in a seastone lined coffin. Usopp's neck is twisted, and hisheadshouldn'tbethatway_ —

_"NOT MY NAKAMA!" He can feel his eyelids growing heavier and heavier and the cuts on his back is nothing compared to the pain that is growing despair in his heart. "WE HAD A DEAL!"_

_"Deal's off, Straw Hat." His vision grows darker, and he falls into oblivion. Zoro-Nami-Usopp-Sanji-Chopper-Robin-Franky-Brooke_ —

"Goku!" He comes to and his eyes clear up to see someone floating. Or was it? He squints, and finally focuses on a guy with a hair pinned to one side.

"T-Thatch?" The fourth division commander looks worried. Next to him, Marco tips the work he was working on to one side, before turning his attention to him.

"You suddenly clutched your head and started screaming." Thatch replies to his unspoken question. "Then you fainted. Scared the hell out of all of us." He helps Goku to sit on the bed, but Goku still feels disoriented.

"You said that the Marines may attempt a hostage exchange. Was that what happened to your old crew?" Goku feels too tired to lie. So he says it all.

"They died. On Dawn Island, I was captured and about to be executed." Makino and the rest of Foosha Village had to be pushed away by the Marines. Dadan and the mountain bandits had been imprisoned in a bid to prevent them from helping him escape. There was a cordon around the whole area, and Goku had been prepared.

"They tried to rescue me." It wasn't well thought-through, this plan made in desperation. "The officer told me that their crimes would be cleared in exchange for my compliance. But, they had already captured them beforehand, and were about to execute my crew after my death without telling me." His crew had escaped their bonds and were rushing towards him. His cries fell on deaf ears as he saw his crew, his _nakama_ being slaughtered as those knives went down his back.

"Oh gods." Marco hissed. "So you escaped?" Both commanders seemed alarmed and angry on his behalf.

"I did. But they continued to chase after me." So many people died because of him. Even members of the World Government were attacked because they were seen to be allies, not to mention the Straw Hat Grand Fleet or the numerous crews he was friends with.

"That's why Roger dismissed his crew beforehand." There was growing realization behind the eyes of Marco. "You told him what happened." Roger had dispersed his crew, and most might have wondered why he had done so. Most didn't know that the Marines had chased after every woman who was unfortunate to be pregnant at that time. He was so _busy_ during those few years. Ha, that brat really gave him so much trouble.

"I warned him." Roger had been unhappy to do so, but he had reluctantly agreed. That was the reason why Shanks and Buggy continued to remain under the radar until they chose to make a name for themselves. He felt underneath his shirt, where two scars marked the entry of those knives into his body. "I helped protect them, as a service to my successor."

"Oh." Thatch gripped the bridge of his nose tightly. Then, he startled. "Wait. I've never heard of this. When did this occur?" Goku somehow finds it himself to grin in mischief.

"That's a secret." One that he would bring to his grave.

* * *

_"Robin?" Her captain asks as he plays with his finger. "What did that inscription say?"_

_"Hmm?" she answers. "It's a theory on time. It says that the world follows a certain order. Time would always push for a certain series of events to take place."_

_"An order?" Her captain frowns. "That sounds boring. Who wants to tell others what to do?" Robin thinks back on her past experience. Her captain had always been against orders, be it from the Marines, the World Government or even from those more powerful than him. In his mind, the Pirate King is the one who has the greatest amount of freedom. It's no wonder he disapproves of it._

_"It's not one person." She answers. "It's an entity that is never commanded by another." Judging by the confused look her captain gives her, Robin simplifies the explanation given earlier to the rest of the crew._

_"Say our destiny and dreams are like a piece of woven cloth. Our lives and bonds are woven together to make a tapestry of fate_ _—"_

_"Robin, what's a tapestry?"_

_"It's a heavy fabric, made when multiple threads are wound around each other."_

_"Just like nakama!" When they camp out on an island, her captain usually does the same thing by winding long rubbery arms around each other. It's not hard to see the comparison._

_"Exactly. So one tangle or snip would unravel this piece of cloth. However, this theory states that rather than being rigid, this cloth is elastic, like rubber."_

_"Like me!" Robin nods in agreement. A bouncy person full of joy is exactly what her captain is. She finds his happiness contagious, and smiles._

_'"It snaps back to its original position, and resumes its course." Her captain's face turns into a frown. A while later, it turns into a smile. Robin is amused by this sudden turn of events._

_"So that means if we stretch the rubber, and hold it down with something, it can't go back to its original form right? " Sometimes, it's nice to receive a pleasant surprise. Her captain's clear insight on some days happens to be one._

_"It's still a theory though." She reminds him._

_"Shishishi, what's a theory?"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Canon gets thrown off course. Man makes plans, God laughs. sigh...Luffy, why don't you check a dictionary on what 'Theory' means?


	8. Out of Hand

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Poseidon awakens. The Pirate King's plan comes into motion. Many plans are thrown off by a third party.

"Bearer of the 'D'." He turned to see the spirit hovering next to him.

"Hi!" The wanderer waved merrily as they continued to sail towards Fishman Island. "How's it going?"

"You seem to be enjoying yourself." There was a polite query to his tone. "Are you still aware that your time is running out?" There was an awkward silence before the wanderer burst out laughing.

"Shishishi!" He chuckles. "So what? I know how elastic it can be. So I will keep to it." He rubs at his seastone-tipped gloves. "Why have you come?"

"...You are an interesting article." The figure concedes as he does the equivalent of sitting down. "Your...current crew is persistent." The wanderer drops his smile, and frowns in dismay.

"That's not good. How long can you continue?" This incident in the infirmary bothers him. For the second time in many years, he casts back to long ago during his failed execution. He remembers how his cook had not been seen, but he had seen a mop of blonde hair lying down. It is far too late for him to have regrets, and he was not the sort of person to go back on what he has said and done. Maybe long ago, he would have further gone on to ignore his past, but now, he is increasingly reliant on his past to support his upcoming actions.

He knows it is wrong, but sometimes one has to use the past as a guide to one's future, and he hopes that the mistakes he had made would not repeat again.

"Up until then." The figure shakes his head. "I cannot delay any further." He reaches up a hand to rub the figure gently on the shoulder. The figures startles, turning towards him in dismay. It is no wonder, for no mortal had ever comforted him in that way. Many flee before him, and those who bear the initial 'D' may smile, but they are still hesitant. This boy is unique.

"Thank you for giving this favour." The boy says formally. "I appreciate your effort." The figure shrugs away, brushing whatever touch the wanderer had made on him.

"It was not a favour." The figure argues. "It was an exchange." Before the wanderer could interject any further, the figure turns on its heels and vanish. The wanderer silently gives a nod of understanding, before turning towards the deck. He knows that the figure would come soon anyhow. It is a matter of who he chooses.

Before Roger, the figure had hated him for what he sees as a betrayal of his trust, a result of the wanderer's actions towards him. At Roger's execution, the two had met each other after the figure had done its duty. The long discussion had ended in a battle of wills, and they had come to a compromise.

By the time the wanderer reaches Whitebeard's ship, they had come to sympathise with each other, a result of the prolonged time spent together. Now, the wanderer knows what to do in the upcoming battle ahead.

* * *

_"Who are you?" Shirahoshi does not understand as she awakes from her nap. The figure, who had been bouncing on her chest stood up, before flipping over to the table._

_"Awaken, Poseidon." There is a flash, a hint of the earth shaking, a slight gust of wind, and Shirahoshi opens her eyes once again._

_"Lu-"_

_"No, please do not call me that, Princess." There is a tender smile coming up his lips. "Still a crybaby then?"_

_"Uwaaaah!" Thick pearly droplets ran down Shirahoshi's cheeks, irrespective of the 'shushing' noises that her saviour is making. The last time, the last time..._

_"Shirahoshi? I need you to do me a favour." Shirahoshi nods excitedly. She can finally see her friend again! That is so...so..._

_"What can I do for you, my friend?" There is an inkling in her that tells her that names seem to slide off this person, so unlike what she had seen before. She does not understand this premonition, but her thoughts are more occupied by the fact that her friend, her saviour is alive once more. Then she looks around her. Rather than the palace she had grown used to living in, it is her tower once more. Her old pet is still snoring away next to her bedside, and she gathers her thoughts to listen to her friend once more._

_"I need you to act as one of the judges of the next Pirate King." He holds a hand out to forestall any protests. "Shirahoshi, please understand. What I am doing now goes against the laws of those above. I do not wish to drag you into it. Yet, at the same time, I know that there has to be a counterbalance to the three great powers." Shirahoshi does not understand. How is she years in the past? Why is her friend saying this?_

_Why does he sound like he is going to die again?_

_"Judge?" She asks, because this sounds the most important to her._

_"Yes. There would be many pirates who would be chasing after One Piece once more. Now, I know you may wish to elect the current me, that is the one who is supposed to be existing in this place your king, but I do not think that I should be given anymore favour than I have to."_

_"Would it not be better if I gave you my assistance?" She asks in wonder._

_"Knowing my younger self right now?" Her saviour shakes his head. "No. He still wants an adventure. Should you tell him anything, he would not choose to follow anyway. That is his nature, and I know it all too well. No, reveal nothing." He emphasized his last word, "Nothing on what I had done, nor what may follow." He taps on her upper arm, and the strange sensation that had been present after her awakening disappears._

_"There. I got rid of Vander Decken's mark." He touches her finger. "I am sorry for leaving you trapped for the next two years." Shirahoshi shakes her head. She has had freedom for a very long time. Yet her friend had been...had been...  
_

_"Can I ask you a question?" Shirahoshi knows sadness; she has experienced many forms of it even before she meets her saviour. "Are you-Are you planning to..."_

_"Yes. I think I will." He answers, crossing his arm. "But unlike before." He smiles widely, "I think I'm going to be laughing!"_

* * *

"Thank you for giving us passage, Neptune." Whitebeard tells his old friend. Neptune laughs as he waves away the guards. The Whitebeard Pirates have restocked, and are setting sail directly towards Marineford. They have spent barely a day, urgent in their rush to get towards Marineford.

"No, it is you we should thank." Neptune says in gratitude. "Without your protection, we wouldn't be able to defend ourselves as well away from the kidnappers." Whitebeard feels a slight amount of guilt. Should he not survive Marineford, his friend would be hampered by the lack of support the Whitebeard Pirates provide. He hears that Jinbe has resigned in protest of the capture of Ace, but knows that the Sun Pirates would have the firepower needed to defend the Fishman Island.

Before they leave, he catches sight of Goku skidding across the road, rushing towards the boat. In his hands are a few log poses and something that had the texture of rubber. When questioned, Goku beams and says that it was a gift from a friend. Whitebeard snorts in amusement. Why would the wanderer need a balloon on board the _Moby Dick_?

As they float towards the upwards current, Whitebeard catches sight of a giant shark following them. Just before they shoot upstream, the shark appears to weep while waving its fin. Goku roars with laughter, and waves as well. The shark is joined by a menancing kraken, which moves its tentacles lazily before chasing the shark away, much to the amusement of those on board.

"Ah, Surume!" Goku says. "Thank you so much!" To the amazement of the Whitebeard Pirates, Surume the kraken pulls a happy expression and leaves.

"You know the kraken as well?" Thatch blurts out in amazement. "The kraken's known for destroying those it comes across!"

"Yup! We go a long way back. I helped it out with its family, and he helps me in return." The wanderer grins. "It's nice to see him! I like him very much!"

"EHHH?" Thatch and the other pirates tilts their heads in disbelief. Whitebeard looks at the dumbstruck expression that his sons bear, and the wide grin on Goku's face, and smiles.

He hopes that Goku would continue on with the crew. He is good with his men, even those who have not encountered him before find it easy to get along with him. It helps that Goku seems to be friends with most sea animals, even with a kraken usually known for destroying ships. He has also proven his worth by knocking out enemy pirates without killing in Whitebeard's name even if he had never joined the Whitebeard Pirates themselves.

Yes, it would be nice if Goku joined.

* * *

"We're reaching Marineford in twenty minutes." Marco notes as he sits on the railing. Thatch, finally cleared for duty grins as he twirls his swords lovingly. Marco had been deployed as advance guard, while Izo and Thatch would be defending the _Moby Dick_ on deck. Vista and Jozu would head off Aokiji, while Little Oars Junior, per his request would be the front guard.

"I can't wait to rescue Ace!" Thatch commented. While he had been released by the infirmary earlier, he found that practice with Marco and Goku helped keep his mind off Ace's capture. The announcement of his execution, while a horror, was not surprising, especially for those in the know about Ace's heritage. They knew that Ace had escaped the world's clutches when he was an unborn babe; it's no wonder the World Government is itching to cover up its mistake by executing the real son of Roger.

Ha! As if they had ever known whose son Ace really was.

Goku had been nowhere to be found, but it was no wonder as Goku had been whisked off to the infirmary and had probably went into hiding after a fainting spell. Well, it's not like it hadn't been expected. Goku would come for Ace at the end of the day, and though the two hadn't known each other for long, Marco knows that Goku would come to the aid of Ace anytime.

As they rose to the surface, one of the doors leading up to the deck abruptly slammed. Goku strode forward, leaning heavily against the railing.

"Where's Ace?" His fingers were wound tightly around his staff as he hissed. "I can't feel him!" Marco turns and uses his Haki to focus onto the execution platform.

Goku's feeling proved all too true, as his eyes found the man who was most assuredly _not_ Ace on the execution platform.

"Shit." He hisses, "Tell Pops that we've been tricked."

* * *

Sengoku watched as the best of the Marines continued to monitor the bubbling that indicated an incoming coated ship. Yes, he had expected for Whitebeard to do so; that was why he had the bay surrounded and choked, such that Whitebeard's allies would be unable to enter.

The fleet had escorted the prisoner through the Gates of Justice. On their way there, a few merchant ships had been attacked by some small-time pirates; the fleet had assisted in defending the merchant ships as one of them happened to be owned by an influential member of the World Nobles. Sengoku had been displeased when he found out about it, but was reassured that the prisoner was still heavily guarded even as the no-name pirates were chased off. Despite the increase in travelling time, there had been an all-clear signal sent by the commander of the fleet.

For every Whitebeard, there were ninety-nine others of Big Mom or Kaido; the Pirate Age that had been started by Roger had to be quelled or at least mitigated by the killing of Whitebeard and Gol D. Ace that day. He had also hoped to showcase the Pacifistas; Vegapunk had reported that some abnormality had cropped up with the original, but the rest of the 'Tyrant's' copies were fully functional and thus Akainu had advocated for them to be used in place of the missed firepower that Kuma's absence would have caused.

In fact, they should be arriving right...now...

"Where is the fleet?" He shouted on the Den Den No Mushi. The commander on the other side of the line whimpered.

"We've been tricked!" The Den Den No Mushi cowered away as Sengoku's grip tightened on the snail. "When we reached the Gates of Justice, we decided to check on the prisoner. Those pirates had vanished with the prisoner!"

"Where is he?" Garp was rolling on the floor with laughter, tears of relief evident in his eyes. Sengoku, long inured to Garp's ways ignored him with the experience of thirty years of being his friend, and continued his one-sided shouting match with the commander.

"We don't know!" The Den Den No Mushi said in fright. "When we tried to pursue the pirates, they were nowhere in sight! It's as though the seas have stolen Fire Fist from us!"

"Find him!" He hung up, and turned towards the broadcasting Den Den No Mushi. "Abort the execution! We don't have the prisoner right now, so all hands on deck! We have to defend Marineford!"

As if to console him, the water started bubbling more furiously beneath the water. At least Whitebeard was still coming.

"We choked the bay already, how are they still coming?" Said one Marine Commander in horror. Sengoku narrowed his eyes on the distinct bubbling.

"At least we've got Whitebeard." Garp, no longer laughing commented as he readied his fists. "Come on Senny-chan!" He said in a sing song manner as he jumped off the platform. His eyes no longer bore the conflict between his duty to his job as a Vice Admiral and the familial duty of a grandfather. "We've got some Whitebeard Pirates! Should be fun!"

"GARP!" Sengoku's patience was at its tethers. "This is a disaster already! Where is Fire Fist Ace!"

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A small present for the New Year. From now onwards, canon will no longer be followed. (Maybe?)  
> This early post was driven by comments! Keep them coming!


	9. Execution

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fear spreads. A leader of the Revolutionary Army awakens. The Pirate King's crew learns what they came for. Things take a U-turn for the worse.

Whitebeard looked around, searching for Ace, only to see a displeased Fleet Admiral kicking at the cuffs on the execution platform, while Garp the Fist was busy laughing his ass off. In other circumstances, Whitebeard would have laughed as well, but in this case, who could have thought that the Marines were hiding Ace? Had they been tricked into coming? If Ace was still at Impel Down, they would have noticed it, and made headings towards that as well.

"Guararara...How many decades has it been, Sengoku?" Whitebeard bellowed as he stood on the upper deck of the _Moby Dick_ facing the Fleet Admiral. "Where is my beloved son? He...had better be safe and sound!" There were roars of frustration on board as more and more his sons were informed that their Second Division Commander was not present in Marineford. There is a general aura of anger. The Marines had lied, and brought this war on themselves. Whitebeard crosses his arms, before punching the air. Cracks eminated from his fist, shattering the air. The tides receded, slowly moving away from the shore.

"Get back!" He could hear the Marines warning each other, as they continued to retreat from the shoreline.

"Prepare yourselves, Marine HQ!" He roared once again.

* * *

"What's with this rumbling...!?"

"It's coming! The sea quake he just caused...has turned into a tsunami heading straight for us!" He could hear Garp warning those in front.

"Don't go thinking we can overcome him with sheer military force! We might actually be the ones to meet our end..." Sengoku shouted as he continued to order the Marines to move away. It's no use, his mind tells him. Whenever that man punches the air like that, more Marines would fall. His mind casts back to the numerous reports that he had received after each and every conflict with Whitebeard. Close to three thousand Marine deaths could be attributed to him alone, as the waves wreaked their power onto the Marines who had pursued him in the twenty three ships that had disappeared. Whitebeard was truly merciless in his actions.

"This man holds the power to destroy the world!" He shouts back, as Whitebeard prominently displayed a grin as two enormous tsunamis came into sight.

"This war has started! Fight!" That Akainu! He still had the nerve to say that? Did he not see the need to preserve their forces? Was that man so focused on his goal that he failed to see the need to minimise casualties? _Your high-handed ways would kill you one day, Sakazuki..._

"It's a tsunami!" Just when the wave was about to collapse on them, he could see Aokiji disappearing from his seat, before reappearing right at the edge of the wave itself. With a cry, the two waves froze entirely, and he heaved a sigh in relief. Thankfully, one of them had sense.

* * *

"Sir, we need to retreat from this area! Ace isn't here, so fighting the Marines is a waste of time!" The wanderer shouts, furious at this display of arrogance. Why had Whitebeard attacked the Marines? There was no Ace, so there was no reason to battle with the Marines.

"Guararara!" Whitebeard laughed in return, "They should know what happens when they try to capture one of us!" But he could see the steady disappearance of the allied crew. Whitey Bay continued to carve out a path through the ice created by Aokiji, but one by one, Wild Knight doma, Thunder Lord Mc Guy, the Decalvan brothers, Vortex Spider Squard disappeared beneath the waters. Convincing all of the allies to do coating was _worth_ it, he thinks, as the memories of the previous hours came to mind.

_"Marco! We need all our allies to do coating!" Marco had looked up from the communications room. Goku had suddenly stormed in, placing a few maps on the table. "If our intel is right, all three Admirals are going to be there! Aokiji is sure to freeze the waters, and only Whitey Bay's got a ship capable of navigation on those waters._

_"We were planning on doing so." Rakuyo shrugs. "For our invasion to succeed, Pops wants us to go for the undersea route."_

_"I know that, but rather than popping the bubble after we emerge into Marineford, tell them to leave it on until we get confirmation that Ace is present!"_

"Could it be...That we're covering the backs of our allies?" Goku realises. Whitebeard laughs again, and Goku is willing to take that for a confirmation. He breathes a sigh of relief, before transferring his attention and focusing on his own Haki.

 _Where is Ace?_ He asks in his head.

 _Unconscious...Sleepinghelphim...King..._ He strains his brow, desperately sending his Haki in all directions. Now that he knows Marineford isn't here, he needs to give the Whitebeard Pirates their next heading. At least with the Marines, it was simple and well thought out. Now though, he can't tell where his adopted brother is...

He knows he can't stay too long with the crew after this though. Not after the revelation that Shanks had brought about. Even after Roger had conquered the Grand Line, the title of Pirate King was not given until the World Government had proclaimed him so. Thus, he was still able to hold on as long as there wasn't a new Pirate King being recognised. After this, however...

His time is coming soon. _Hurry, my friends, find Ace, make sure that this crew survives for the next two years..._

_...I want to spend some more time with this crew. At least a little while longer._

He was really getting too old for this. He wondered if that was how his former crew had felt when he had died so senselessly on Dawn Island. He had surrendered himself to the authorities, in hopes that like the previous crew before him, they would be left in relative peace. But the Marines who hated him had decided to get rid of the Pirates once and for all.

Goku laughed. How foolish. As if they hadn't learnt from the War of the Best on how not to put an end to the Pirate Age.

 _There won't be any War of the Best this time._ He promises to himself. _I will ensure it, even if I were to die permanently._

* * *

"Boss, what are we to do with him?" The Chief of Staff doesn't look up from his papers. He is terribly busy these days; even on missions he brings his paperwork to do. It is a tedious task, being the second-in-command of the Revolutionary Army.

He cast his mind back on the man lying on the bed in the infirmary. The ship's doctors have looked at him and pronounced him fine; so has too one of the revolutionary leaders who were in the same state as him.

"Leave him as he is." There is a heavy weight pressing against his mind. He does not like it; he wants his mind clear while he works. However, the unconscious man stirs up forgotten memories and feelings that are at the edge of his consciousness.

"Sabo-boy!" Ivankov calls out. He forces himself to turn away from the documents on his desk, and faces his fellow revolutionary leader. Inazuma is sipping on some fresh wine; the okama king on the other hand is busy fanning himself with a sheaf of papers in an exaggerated motion. The Chief of Staff recognizes the gesture for what it is, and comes out of his room together with the two escapees.

"Thanks for rescuing us. How about Straw Hat-boy?"

"He'll be fine. While we are here rescuing you, Koala and Hack are infiltrating the Marine Bases." When the cat is away, the mice will play. Because of the mobilization at Marineford, the Revolutionary Army finds it a walk in the park to commit espionage on a grander scale than before. Much of the ease is due to their new members, willing and able to work for a group which holds better ideals as compared to the previous organisation they had worked at.

Admiral Akainu is making their recruitment efforts so much _easier_ ; his dogmatic ways drives those who are disappointed with the Marines to join their cause. Now, the Chief of Staff knows that should Akainu be promoted to Fleet Admiral, they would have a harder time of maintaining their operations. But the Revolutionary Army he has grown up in for ten years have gone from strength to strength; they have liberated more countries than ever before with the jump in manpower.

If only he could find out how Straw Hat is related to him. The boy had stared at him, screamed his name, and fainted when they had first seen each other, much to the ship's amusement; Ivankov attributes it to the adrenaline boost he was given being not strong enough. Sabo thinks that Straw Hat must have been overly exhausted after his spell in the supposedly impenetrable prison.

Shichibukai Jinbe is at unease. Apparently, Straw Hat's brother, the man named Portgas D. Ace was supposed to have been shipped to Marineford for execution. Yet another name that had appeared to be familiar, in addition to Straw Hat's real name. Sabo thinks that he might have met them in East Blue; that is where the Revolutionary Army had found him. Maybe they could tell him who his family was? Sabo does not know whether he wishes to reconcile with them, as the only thought that remains from before the murky, dark depths of drowning is the strong wish to never _go back._

He looks at Monkey D. Luffy, and wonders. Why had Dragon not rescued his son? If what Straw Hat and Ivankov says were to be true, both Portgas and Straw Hat were Dragon's blood. Yet Dragon had not moved, even when proclamations of Portgas' upcoming execution were relayed throughout the world. Dragon would have caught notice at Baltigo; it is what Sabo had done while travelling from Centaurea. In fact, he would have found it suspicious that the News Coo would have gone to him, giving its cargo in exchange for the petty coins and the pat that Sabo had given it. He was not usually approached by the birds, but the News Coo seems to be almost begging for him to read its burden.

The Chief of Staff is curious about how simply reading the article had given him a headache. Admiral Akainu had spoken about how 'Justice would be pursued'. Bullshit. As if the massacre at Ohara as well as a dozen other places whose only crime was to go against the World Government had been 'justice'. Sabo couldn't tell if the man was a psycho, or a genuine zealot whose extremism went beyond the bounds of duty. He had caused trouble for the Revolutionary Army, using above-brutal force in his tactics.

Come to think of it, didn't the Straw Hat help them as well, even before the supposed break out from Impel Down? The Cipher Police 9 were a pain in the posterior for the Revolutionary Army; it's by dumb luck that they've made enemies of the Straw Hats and subsequently had found themselves crash and burn for it. He should probably thank Straw Hat when he's awake, for indirectly alleviating their burden. Right now, their ship was heading towards Marineford because Ivankov insists on helping Straw Hat rescue his brother.

"Boss!" One of his man from the communications room is shouting. "We've got a report! Whitebeard has arrived at Marineford! But Portgas had gone missing!" Both he and Ivankov startle in shock.

"Impossible! Ve've heard him being transported away from the prison!" Ivankov cries, holding his hands to his mouth. "Then vhere could Ace be?"

Sabo paces on the deck. So far, Straw Hat is here with them; Whitebeard is at Marineford with all of his allies. Which means that the two crews most important to Portgas are not responsible for his disappearance.

Where could Portgas be?

* * *

_The boy is staring at the piece of fabric before him. Next to him, so is a woman, with long dark hair and pretty teal eyes._

_"Luffy?" The woman asks as she gently strokes his head. "Do you know what that is?"_

_"Some mysterious cloth?" He knows that this piece of cloth has something that scares him. A little bit, but not as much as Gramps does. Gramps is old. He punches others with no rhyme or reason. Luffy doesn't even begin to understand the singular person that his grandpa is. Anyway, the woman is still talking to him, so he listens._

_"It is. It is the tapestry of time."_

_"Tae-piss-tree?" He mutters, chewing on his finger. The woman laughs daintily as she scoops him up. "Hey, let me go!"_

_"Here, sit." He snuggles up to the woman's lap. She is warm, so he grins when his head flexes back after bouncing on the woman. He squirms closer to the woman, her body heat was so soothing and easy to sleep in._

_"It's a piece of woven fabric." The woman frowns as she sits up. "But I think you know what it actually is."_

_"Hmm? It's some mysterious fabric?" Luffy says. Thinking hurts, so it's better to use simpler terms. Anyway, the woman isn't telling him much other than the fact that it's related to a tree. Luffy could plainly see that it's a cloth, not a kind of tree._

_"Yes. Yarns are twisted together to form tapestries. Then, the kings of yesteryear would carry this around, to decorate their walls." She lifts her hand, and the mirror before them changes its reflection. Now, rather than a side view of the woman and the boy, it now shows another cloth, with a king sitting on a dais while his subjects moved into and out of the screen. The boy's eyes turned into stars as he watches the bustling activity that is silently appearing._

_"SO COOL!" He shouts, stretching his hand towards it._

_"It is, isn't it?" The woman chuckles. Then, her face grows serious, like when Ace is talking about his father, or when Sabo is talking about his parents. Luffy doesn't like this, because he associates this expression with bad memories. So he uses his fingers to point the corners of her mouth upwards, such that it is now in a grin._

_"Don't be sad." He says. "Be happy!" The woman watches his action with amusement._

_"I need to tell you something. Do you know of time travel, Luffy?" The boy shakes his head. She takes out two sticks, and two stone pebbles. Luffy is watching the motion with rapt attention.  
_

_"Time moves one way, from the past." She lifts a hand to place a stone into the space between the two sticks. "To the present, and onto the future." She places the first stone onto the space outside the two sticks on the right hand side._

_"However, there was a man who did a very different thing." She lifted the second stone from the future, and dropped it into the other space outside the space between the two sticks. It is to the left hand side, where she inscribes 'The past'._

_"He went from the future to the past." She points at the stone that is still stuck on the right hand side._

_"So his friends were unhappy that he left."_

_"Why would he do that?" The boy wonders. It's not right! Nakama should always stick by one another._

_"He did so, because the other alternative was..." She moved the second stone away from the sticks. "Dying."_

_"Dying?" He is not familiar with the word, so the woman elaborates, "Gone to heaven."_

_"So he didn't choose to do so!" He triumphantly says._

_"No, he didn't." The woman's shoulders drop. "But his friends wanted him back, so they too followed him." She moved the stones back to the original position. "However, they were too late. The man had gone too far." She moved the second stone far to the left, while the first stone is stuck close to the border between the left space and the centre space. "And his friends couldn't follow him there. So he waited for them." She tapped the stone, akin to how a person walked. Clip, clop, clip, clop._

_"Wouldn't he get lonely?" The boy asks, because it's obvious to him that if nakama followed him against the usual direction, he must have wanted to meet them as well._

_"He did. And he waited. He waited until he saw his friends again. So this time, when he actually saw them, he didn't think they were real." The woman lifted a hand to her face, and Luffy could see her crying. Uh oh. He's usually the one who cries, so he doesn't know how to deal with someone else who is crying._

_"It's okay. Some people do that." He thinks back to when Sabo had died. He had cried for weeks, and was overjoyed to see Sabo peeking from behind him. They had watched Ace together, bathed together, slept together..._

_Until he accidentally threw a hand into Sabo's face, and Sabo's ghost disappeared. He had started crying again, until Ace had carried him into his room, called him a crybaby, and the two had curled up to one another. Ace had scolded him for being a crybaby, but he had promised to himself, that things like that won't happen again. He won't cross an image with one of his friends, even if they were conjured by his mind._

_He tells this to the woman, and she lifts her head, blinking tears away._

_"Thank you for telling me this, Luffy." She says, grasping his hand. "Now we know." Before his very eyes, multiple people appear before him. A green-haired man with three swords. A woman with long orange hair in flowing waves, holding a pole. A man with goggles on his brow, and a really, really long nose. A blonde man, with MEAT!  
_

_"Meat!" He says, and the swirly eyebrowed man tosses him the raw meat. He chews on it, before watching as new people continued to emerge from the door. A reindeer with a blue nose is standing at the same height as him, hugging him with tears running down its cheeks. A robot man with blue hair and three chins is giving him a thumbs up. A skeleton is dancing as he continues to play Bink's Sake on his violin, while someone else is singing as accompaniment.  
_

_"Well, you heard him, right?" The long nosed man says as he heaves his weapon, which seemed to be a slingshot with several green balls hanging off to his shoulder. "If our captain was to truly believe us, we need to get hit by him."_

_"That so, huh?" The swordsman scratches his head. "Then we might as well make our grand debut out into the world."_

_"Yohohoho!" The musician cries as he puts down his violin, and pulls out his cane. "Let us ride the waves once again, my friends!"_

_"Onwards!" The unknown voice cries, "To find One Piece!" The boy recognises this voice. He turns, and..._

* * *

... Luffy wakes up. He's been lying on the bed, but the ship isn't one belonging to the Marines.

"Iva-chan?" He yells at the top of his voice. "Jinbe? Where are we?" He hurriedly sits up, craning his neck for any sign of his companions.

"Lie down." There is a man in a doctor's suit. "You're on the ship. The Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army is coming over, and he wants to talk to you." Luffy obediently sits, because there is an aura of menace that Nami wears when she is about to punch him. The door to the room is knocked, once, twice, and the man opens the door to admit Ivankov and another man in coat tails, pipe strapped to his back and head adorned by a top hat and goggles.

"Our Chief of Staff wants to talk to you, Straw Hat boy!" Ivankov says as he ushers the other man to the bed.

"Luffy, was it?" The man takes off his top hat, to reveal a face bearing a burn scar on the left side crowned by curly blonde hair. Huh. He had thought that it was supposed to be cut much shorter than that...

"Sabo!" He shouts happily. Then, he remembers his dream, and punches him on the face.

"Huh?" the man dodges the blow, before holding Luffy's hand in his palm. "Wait, what?"

"You're Sabo! I thought you're dead, but you were alive." Tears and snot are running down his cheeks, but he doesn't care. He's got one brother back!

"Sabo, we have to rescue Ace, he's at Marineford!" He says, shaking Sabo with his other arm violently. "Our brother needs us?"

"Brother?" Sabo gives a wide-eyed stare? "I have a brother?" Luffy shakes his head impatiently. Sabo is so slow! Luffy would need to explain things further.

"Ace got captured by Teach! Then the Marines took him, and sent him to Impel Down! Then I wanted to rescue him! But the Marines got to Ace first, and now they're moving him to Marineford! We need to save him!" Sabo is still looking at him in confusion.

"Ace..."

"Yeah, you know! Our brother! We swore to be brothers by exchanging cups of Sakazuki! You were three years older than me but three months younger than Ace! You were going to write a book of our adventures, while Ace was going to be a great pirate! And..." He breathes in.

"I'M GOING TO BE THE KING OF PIRATES!"

"CLAM UP, STRAW HAT!" Buggy's voice said in irritation. "Some of us are trying to rest here!"

"King of Pirates?" Sabo whispers. He glances at the window outside.

"How do you know me?" It's really heartbreaking to hear the note of confusion. Looks like Professor Luffy has to explain things further. He stands up, ignoring the protests of the doctor, and rummages through the newspaper lying on the doctor's desk, before pulling out Ace's bounty.

"Here! Ace, our brother!" Sabo blinks once, twice, before falling over.

"HEY!"

* * *

 

"Isn't that a Revolutionary Ship?"

"It is! Surround it, we have got some pride to salvage."

"Do you think we'll get a promotion?"

"Of course! Did you not see that man smoking there? It's Crocodile, one of the former Shichibukai!"

"So it is! 'Star Clown' Buggy from East Blue is there?"

"Really?" the pair of binoculars were passed over to another. "Well, I'll be damned. He raided my hometown, he's not getting away from me. "

"All in favour of chasing that ship to Marineford? We'll put someone else on the execution block instead."

**"Aye!"**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Marineford Arc: Start!  
> Now, where is Ace? Not with the Marines, nor with Whitebeard, nor with Luffy or the Revolutionary Army.  
> I'm planning an SBS! Fire all questions at me! The more humorous, the better!


	10. Rescue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sabo is hidden in Ivankov's hair. Goku struggles with the impossibility of fighting on level grounds. Luffy gets hypnotized once more.

When Sabo comes to, the first thing he thinks is _oh hell no_. Because if he's seeing a sea of purple, it means only one thing. He's being hidden in Ivankov's _hair._ He carefully parted the curly locks and sharpens his vision a slight bit.

Straw Hat _, no, Luffy_ is being bound with sea stone chains, and from what he can see, so too are Ivankov and Inazuma. The rest of the escaped Impel Down prisoners seemed to have escaped, but the person he is half-buried in is being escorted somewhere. He looks around and sees that the guards' attention is mostly on Luffy. Frankly, no one would suspect a person to be hidden in hair, even if the the one bearing the magnificent hairdo goes by the name of _Okama King._

If Ivankov had found the time to carefully stuff Sabo into his hair, it meant that they had decided to go with Plan C, that is to gain a quicker access path by relying on the Marines hanging about. Inazuma was against this plan, mainly because it involved being captured _again_ ; but Ivankov must have seen fit to pursue this. He sees his baby brother in front, eyes glassy.

He looks up, and shudders. Shit, what is Ivankov thinking?

"Oi, Ivankov!" He mutters under his breath. Ivankov shakes his head a little, a sign that he's listening. "What are we doing in _Marineford?"_

"Our ship was surrounded by five Marine ships." Ivankov answers in a whisper. "Crocodile, Buggy and the rest had been left to drown on the sinking ship-" Sabo highly doubts that. A Shichibukai and a former member of the Roger Pirates? They would have found their way off long ago, "while our members are currently mixed with some of the Marines. " _Good job_ , he thinks. They've been trying to get some of their members into Marineford for documents for some months now, after Kuma had informed them that it was unlikely he was able to commit espionage on their behalf after the final stage of the Pacifista project. With the ongoing chaos at Marineford, the probability of successfully getting intelligence from the deserted administrative offices at Marine HQ is higher now than ever.

"And Luffy?" Ivankov notices the change in pronoun, judging from the slight startle of the head.

"Straw Hat-boy had been panicking after you had fainted. A Marine with hypnotic powers was able to get him while you were unconscious."

"Shit, then why is he here?" His head is filled with worse case scenarios. It's a bad habit accumulated from his job as the Chief of Staff of the Revolutionary Army; he's planned for the worst while hoping with the best.

 _Luffy imprisoned at Impel Down, Luffy captured after having escaped from Impel Down, Luffy facing possible execution at Marineford..._ Sabo is going to have nightmares after this. Along with Ace's would-be execution.

"Ivankov, does Luffy know that his brother isn't at Marineford?" Ivankov's head gives a jolt.

"Hey, Straw Hat-boy!" But Luffy's unfocused eyes continue to remain on the ground. Shit shit shit! Luffy's definitely drugged to the gills, by the looks of him. His mouth is slack, jaw hanging half open, while his breathing is slow. In other words, Luffy is in danger. Sabo reaches up for his pouch. Unluckily for him, his Sea Stone tipped pipe had been left behind on the ship, so he's only got a jack knife up his boot, and a pistol which has seen better days.

He grins, as he shoots the lock off Ivankov's cuffs silently. He's got a little brother to save.

* * *

"Fleet Admiral Sengoku!" The Den Den no Mushi seems to be in a state of panic. "We've got Straw Hat! But we need back up!" Oh no. Sengoku doesn't need this right now. The circus that was Ace's attempted execution is turning into a farce. Right when they think they've got him and Whitebeard, Ace disappears. Then, the allied crew disappears, as the Whitebeard Pirates themselves cover for them. Now, with all of their allies fully retreated, the _Moby Dick_ looks ready to begin it's own disappearing act, as it's crew start to head back towards the bay after buying time for the allies to escape. This is an unmitigated _disaster_.

"Send Vice Admiral Momonga and Onigumo to escort Straw Hat to the execution platform." The use of Straw Hat to save face hasn't been made known to Garp yet, but Sengoku isn't taking any chances. Bad enough that Impel Down has had its first breakout in decades; losing the ringleader of that operation would be a greater loss of face. They hadn't even been able to keep track of who was responsible for the second breakout, but Sengoku highly suspects that it has to do with the missing Shichibukai Blackbeard. Why had that man been made Shichibukai again? Oh yeah, Fire Fist Ace. _Who isn't even present for his execution._

They've been playing right into the hands of Blackbeard alright. Both the Marines and Whitebeard had been forced into this head on collision. And if he were correct, Blackbeard had used Ace as his entry ticket with the sole purpose of being allowed into Impel Down. Which he had proceeded to turn upside down after Straw Hat Luffy had broken out dozens of high-level criminals. He hated the part of his job where he had to execute orders from above, even when there was no point to this action. While he had initially agreed to the execution of Ace, he had not wanted to have a public spectacle.

But after news of Ace's disappearance had gotten out, some bloody World Noble had called for the execution of another infamous Pirate. Bad enough that Whitebeard, in all likelihood, was successfully escaping the intended death trap that was Marineford, the information that the Marines had caught Straw Hat en route to Marineford had spread like wildfire, leading to the five Elders asking for the head of Straw Hat Luffy as well.

Sengoku had already sent Garp off chasing Whitebeard. He's not so heartless as to let him see the rushed execution of his own grandson, even if Garp were to hate him afterwards. He probably won't be able to look his old friend in the eyes at all after this. Honestly, the more this day stretches on, the worst his day gets.

Maybe after this, he'll retire. Snack on rice crackers or stop dying his hair black and kick back his shoes and relax. He wonders if his conscience could recover from serving more than twenty years as head of the Marines.

* * *

Inazuma did not have the habit of cursing, but he feels that he's willing to make it so after this. Bad enough that Sabo could not successfully free Luffy in time, but worst still, they were caught by two Vice Admirals. While normally Sabo and Ivankov would have easily taken down the two, one of the Marines had escaped with the still half-drugged Straw Hat while they were busy with an unexpected Doberman, who had arrived as reinforcement.

Sabo had cried _Luffy_ and tried to rush after him, but a few other Marines had fallen upon him. Left without his favourite weapon, Sabo had taken to using his _Dragon Claw_ and Ryusoken techniques while Ivankov was blasting them with one _Death Wink_ after another. Because of Whitebeard's retreat, more and more Marines are heading towards them, focused on the new enemy in front of them. He huffs as he hurls one block after another in _Keep Out_ ; if it weren't for the fact that they were supposed to kill no one, he would have long since started to cut the Marines into thin pieces.

He momentarily pauses. That was unlike him. He had never been so vicious before.

In his hesitation, he fails to see one Marine sailing towards him.

"Focus!" Sabo cries, and he turns to see Ivankov firing a Death Wink. The attacking Marine flies away, only to be replaced by a few more of his peers.

He would have to ask Ivankov about it later. He finds it...distressing to feel so murderous, all of a sudden.

Then he sees a dash of flame fly past him. It was only an instant, but he sees the light in the end of the dark tunnel this entire day has been.

* * *

_How did I end up like this?_ Goku asks himself in silent dismay. He dodges a Haki-imbued punch, and rolls over, his hand on his staff. _I'm fighting against Gramps...on equal grounds._

As Marco once puts it, _he hits hard._ The thing is with fighting Garp the Fist, is that one has to dodge his blows. His pain tolerance is pretty high, due to years of battling pirates, criminals and the occasional oversized forest animal. Though Garp may have been his affectionate grandfather, he hadn't held back on the Fist of Love when it comes to delivering pain, and Goku is well aware of that. Thus, Goku is opting to dodge his grandfather in this timeline again and again to wear Garp out, because unlike his strength, his stamina was more likely to wear away with every avoided punch than for his strength to weaken.

He still can't believe that he's holding his own against Gramps, even when he had been able to fight off the Yonko.

He had never really gotten over the old man's death, in some cases, which was why he allows Gramps to get one blow in. Gramps grins when his fist finally connects with Goku's upper left arm.

"Haven't seen you before? Are you a new recruit?" He comments as Goku winces. "I haven't come across you before?" Goku takes the time to stare at the old geezer, because unlike before, this Garp has never met him. Now, all he should see would be a man that his duty commands him to defeat and take down. Now, he bears a serious and heavy countenance, unlike the times when Goku had met him under a different face and name. Now, they are enemies across the battlefield, rather than a indulgent grandfather and his hooligan of a grandson.

"Not a member." He replies, ignoring the burn in his chest. "Just a wanderer." It hurts, seeing his grandfather with such cold eyes. Then, a noise whistles, calling for his attention. He brushes away the glancing blow that Gramps gives, and looks up at the platform.

" _No."_ He whispers, because he recognises that figure on the platform.

How had his younger self got up there? There wasn't even an Ace to rescue! Gramps catches note of what he's staring at, and turns back.

Goku could tell the direct moment when Garp sees his grandson about to be executed. His face dramatically pales, and his fists come to a halt, while his jaw slings upwards in disbelief. Conflict swims across his face, and Goku realizes this, because it's the same look he bore when Goku had punched him out of the platform on his way to rescue his _own_ Ace.

"Come you shitty old geezer. Go rescue your grandson." He whispers, and just before he kicks off with the use of _Soru_ in order to fly off with _Geppo_ , he could see the grateful look that Garp casts. If he could time this just right, one blow from Garp was able to collapse the execution platform such that his younger self would fall over.

* * *

Luffy thinks he's in this in between stage of being awake and asleep. He grins as a bowl full of hot piping noodles floats into sight, and he licks his lips in anticipation. He recalls the day that Sabo, Ace and he had ate their first bowl of ramen together. With Sabo alive, maybe they would be able to do it again some time.

The Marines were willing to escort him to Ace on the platform? Luffy thinks that there's something wrong, but his mind is too foggy, and he can't feel his hands very well. Warning bells start to ring in his head. Let's see, there was Sabo, him showing Sabo Ace's picture, Sabo goes to sleep, some shouting, Buggy and the rest being tied up, he trying to stop the Marines by using Gomu Gomu Pistol, then something dancing right and left in his vision.

Oh, that guy from Usopp's village. What was his name again? Tango? Anyway, that guy had waved something in front of him, whispered something...and then...

 _Go to your execution without resisting._ What the hell is going on? Luffy inwardly growls at the voice that is calling in his head. Shove off! But he feels that there is ice washing through his veins, clawing at his brain.

 _Go to your execution without resisting._ He grits his teeth, and pushes against it. It becomes blaringly loud, and Luffy thinks, he _doesn't_ want to follow that order. He shakes his head to clear the images of meat away, but he feels groggy with the motion, almost to the point of vomiting.

 _GO TO YOUR EXECUTION WITHOUT RESISTING._ Luffy knows he's got two choices, to allow this person to take control, or to fight back. He doesn't fight back. Instead, he _demands_ control over his body. He surges forward and seizes control with both hands, but it is too late, as two guards stand side by side next to him.

"Straw Hat Luffy." The man besides him speaks loudly, but there is hesitation in his voice. Luffy knows that Ace is supposed to be up here, and breathes a sigh of relief when he sees that his brother isn't here at all. It means he's _safe_ , which was what Luffy was intending to do. With Sabo as well as Ace's _nakama,_ Ace wouldn't be alone.

"As the leader of the break out of Impel Down, the head of the Straw Hat Pirates who have shot the World Flag, assaulted a World Noble..." He tunes out the man's voice, and focuses on the man who's speaking it.

Something tells him that this man was unwilling to see him executed. It's as though a voice is telling him that this man looks... _guilty?_ He catches note of the fact that this is being broadcasted by the Marines, so he might as well make the best of it.

"Zoro, Nami, Usopp, Sanji." He begins, recalling the time at Loguetown. "Chopper, Robin, Franky, Brooke." He's got more nakama to add to the list now. "Thanks for your time. Looks like," he feels a grin stretching across his face. "Sorry. I'm dead!" He says in a sing song voice.

The man looks alarmed, his face frozen in shock. Hmm, Luffy wonders. Was the man...afraid of him, as what the voice in the wind tells him? Then, he feels the whole floor vibrate, and the two executioners fall down. Then the whole thing leans to one side, and _topples._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cliffhanger! Double Post because I was unhappy with Chapter 9 and decided to make up for it by leaving it on a bigger note.


	11. Seniority

"You sure you can handle this?" The navigator raises an eyebrow as she casts her view over the railings. "It's a long way you know. And you haven't completely recovered yet!" Despite her words, her hair's been tied into a pony tail, and she's balanced her pole on top of her shoulders.

"Let him handle it." The cook says, stamping out his cigarette with one foot over the railings. "We all want to do it anyway." His infamous black leg is already lit with the flames of his passion. The person whom he's speaking to gives a wry grin, his posture in a 'lift-off position', getting ready to catapult into the fray. It's clear what he thinks of their worries.

"Hear hear. You think you can handle him?" The sniper adjusted his scope, before heaving his weapon over his shoulder, although since he's about to wreak merry havoc onto Marineford indirectly, he probably won't use it anyway.

"Of course." The swordsman scoffed. His arms are outstretched, eye on the form of their captain into the fray. _It's been a long time since we last saw him, for him. Best make sure that their captain does not just look, but see them._

"The Visual Den Den Mushi's been disrupted already." Their archaeologist shrugs. "It's unlikely that we would be able to remain unseen after this." Despite her words, there's a small smile playing on her face. "Our bounty's going to go up after this."

"That's why our musician and doctor are sitting out of this, right?" the crew collectively rolled their eyes at the sulking figures on board. One of them was curled into a ball of fur, sobbing into the deck, while the other was playing the most irritating screeching sounds that a violin could ever make. "They're the ones with the lowest bounties. Before the two years, anyway." The doctor was still pawing away at the deck.

"On my count, one, two-" The navigator palmed her face in disgust as their temporary companion leaped off the ship at two and was already soaring down.

"He's impatient alright!" The swordsman grinned as he whipped out his swords. The cook shrugged as he followed the flying figure.

"Let's roll!"

Meanwhile, the companion had narrowed his eyes. With one punch, the man had sent a flaming fist, and inwardly whooped when it landed right on target into one of the legs, unbalancing the platform. With another, the whole thing was leaning to one side, the tiny figures clinging onto whatever grip they could hold.

His personal target was staring sleepily ahead, his mouth open in a daze. _Just like him to sleep at a time like this!_

"YOU SHITTY CRYBABY BROTHER!"

* * *

Goku was still fighting with Gramps while heading towards the execution platform when he finally _felt_ it.

Most Devil Fruit users had a certain scent. His archaeologist had the smell of Casablanca flowers, along with old paper, _ruins._ His doctor smelled like the cherry blossoms that Drum Island was famous for when he first came aboard the ship. Then his scent slowly shifted to the clinical smell that the wanderer hates of stinging disinfectant and sterilizing alcohol. But when he gets a good wash, he smells of _meat_ and _cotton candy._ Both of which the wanderer _loves._ In fact, that's why he had identified Chopper as a kind of meat when they had their first disastrous meeting. His musician smelled of Earl Grey, an elegant tea that had a tangy taste in the air when he chose it, along with the common spiced teas that his cook had offered when he discovered that the Devil Fruit user had lost his taste buds after returning back from the underworld.

Above all, unlike what most people would think, they had the smell of the _sea_. It's not like the usual kind that people think sailors smell of, of salt and minerals and different kinds of creatures that lived beneath the watery blue depths. It has something deeper, one that could only be detected on the Devil Fruit users, _those that which are hated by the sea and therefore are forbidden from its depths._ Were he more retrospective, he would have found it interesting as to why those ' _possessed by the devil'_ smelled of the very thing that hates them.

It's been awfully useful, especially in discerning Devil Fruit users. Most Zoan users smelled of the habitats that they had originated from, from the treetops that the curly-haired guy with the pigeon that had fought against him in Water 7, to the sandy-desert like feeling he got from fighting against one of Hancock's sisters. Marco had a distinctive roaring hearth-fireplace, _roasting turkeys_ kind of smell. (He really didn't want to dwell too much on that.) Paramecia users were more akin to the elements they held control over. From what he understood, he smelled of rubber. Not the kind that had been processed into erasers and tires, but of the natural smell of rubber sap being emptied into a metal bucket before being harvested from the trees in the _forest_. Buggy, who had fled from the sight of him even before they had first met, had the smell of a butcher's shop, which is _interesting_ in every definition of the word. Eggplant guy had the smell of rotting flesh and _weariness, almost like glass waiting to break_. Whitebeard had some kind of earthy-smell, like the time that he had fallen into the mud on Dawn Island and Dadan complained as she pulled him out of the brownish water-like earth that _she was never doing this again-Garp-why-did-he-inflict-this-on-her_.

Logia users more simple, as at their very root, they smelled like the elements they found comfort in. Smoker smelled like some thick fog, the kind that always has his navigator up in arms because the ocean reflects the sky, and _how does she inspect the waters when everything's blocking her sight including these three fools._ It's also the smell of cigars, the ones that Smoker is fond off. (He caught the smell of cigar smoke at his execution. No one native to Dawn Island had smoked that particular brand, but he recognizes it). Crocodile's smell changed, from despair and _ruins_ , similar to what Robin had at Alabasta, to _renewed vision_ , the kind that makes people jump in the air, not because they are happy, but because they've received the fright of their lives. Caesar Clown had smelled like _poison, distress and frustration_. Blackbeard smelled of darkness, as though one was in a tunnel with no light at the end and there's so much _suffering_ that one could choke on.

The wanderer has always had a complicated relationship with fire. On one hand, Sabo's disaster at sea, and the ensuing heartbreak that both he and Ace felt when Dogra had collapsed into their hideout with the news. On the other, the flickering flame reminds him of his _brothers,_ of _family,_ of Gramps and them roasting meat freshly conquered and killed on Dawn Island. It reminds him of the light when his cook is preparing a savoury meal. The various campfires that he and his crew had gathered around as they celebrated and sprang parties. The kitchen, where his cook had stood and now Thatch had been rescued in.

So it's the smell that first hits him. The smell of _home_. He feels a wide smile creep up on his face. _My-_

* * *

"It's FIRE FIST ACE!" Garp looks up, and thinks: _You lousy brats!_

Because, that, right there, is his silly grandson being rescued by his other silly grandson. _My hair's going to go grey after this. Oh wait, it's already grey! Bwahahahaha! Maybe Sengoku would stop dying his hair. Ha! Only when he retires. He's still going to be the same uptight uppity bastard though!_

At the same time, he's relieved. No grandson executed even when two were at risk, and both seemed lively and healthy. Now if only he could get a Fist of Love at them, then the day's perfect! Not even Whitebeard escaping could beat his joy though.

His opponent seems distracted. Garp never thought that someone could fight without hesitating at his strength, Roger being the closest. Though the late Pirate King had fled after each contact, shouting 'STOP CHASING AFTER ME, YOU INSANE NUTCASE!' Ah, the life and times of being the one who came the closest to catching Roger. Even though he could feel his strength weakening over the ages, it's always good to teach these young ones a lesson!

He gave another punch, watching his opponent sidestep that with application of Observation Haki, before the other jumped high into the air, and kicked him with a burst of _Soru._ He dodged that, proceeding to head towards the execution platform. Vice Admiral Momonga and Onigumo were already there.

Whoops. Onigumo's down. Some how. He attributes that to a combined _Hiken_ from Ace, and a surprise hit of _Gomu Gomu no Jet Gatling_ from Luffy. Momonga's still struggling valiantly against the duo, and it looks like Smoker and his tagalong is running towards the scene. That boy had the same instincts he had when he was chasing Roger. Nice to see that that's tradition is carrying on.

Onigumo is up again, but this time Momonga's been cut down. Luffy is shouting at Smoker to _not get in his way, because he's rescuing Ace_ and Ace is retorting _who's saving who, Luffy you idiot!_ It's so cute how they glare at each other while secretly looking out for their respective backs.

The captives that had been arrested along with Luffy during his escape attempt are running free now. Hooooo boy. Sengoku's going to blow a gasket. If he isn't blowing one already after this.

Was that...?

Shit, _no no, Akainu, get away from my grandsons. Plural, do you understand?_ The psycho's after his grandsons. His grandfatherly instincts and marine duty are conflicting again. Nope. Nope. Not happening!

Ah, saved by the enemy. That mustache guy with the sword is busy with Onigumo right now, while Marco the Phoenix and that guy with the pompadour is helping Whitebeard to handle Akainu. Good, good, that should be enough, with Marco as the shield...

Oh great. He's _sympathising with the enemy._ Bad Garp. Oh fine, he's _so going to whack these brats in a bit._

One of his punches misfire, and he strikes Doflamingo (completely by accident! Not.) in the head. Ow. The Shichibukai falls down in a dead faint. Ah, whatever. It's not like the flashy youngster could blame him anyway, not when he was trying to cut Garp (and his opponent ) at the same time. Bleh! At you, Shichibukai!

" _Ryusei Kazan!_ " Akainu throws down the gauntlet, unleashing a rain of blows onto the group, Garp gets quickly out of the way, cursing. Shitty admiral, as though he's not a high ranking member of the Marines himself. To his surprise, in front of the unguarded Ace, who's busy dealing with Momonga, and Luffy, who's _sleeping of all things_ in the middle of the chaos, someone darts out from beneath shadows. One second later, his world spins, as the boy he previously knew to be dead comes running around, stabbing furiously at the fists of lava that are pouring down at them.

 _Sabo!_ His heart sings as Ace pours furious curses onto the blonde boy who's escaped death due to stupid Celestial Dragon, but his eyes are watering at the same time. Aw, how cute! Now the number of silly grandsons, both adopted and by blood, have increased to three once again. He's got at least _four_ Fists of Love coming right up, he thinks, as he readies his fist. _One extra for the missing fool who led us to think he's dead._

The three catch sight of him, and all _shudder_ in _fear_. He pouts. Didn't they miss him? He punches Sabo right on the jaw, provoking a cry of _Not this again!_ Ace is shielding Luffy, hissing at him, but there are tears in his eyes, the bashful little boy.

"Hi, gramps." He grins. "Let us through."

"No." He punches, but intentionally overreaches. Ace grins, and ducks around before kicking him down for good measure. Inwardly, he snickers. _I'm just giving you this victory for once. Next time, I won't go easy on you three!_

So the three make it past him. He raises his fist, and punches again, this time semi-serious, at the Phoenix. This time, his blow strikes through, and the man is jerked to one side. At the same time, Akainu manages to burn half of the famous mustache off Whitebeard, and he could see the horror displayed on the faces of the division commanders.

" _POPS!"_ He hears Ace cry. Oh crap, Ace likes Whitebeard. He forgot. _Please don't come back. Please don't come back._

Damn, that boy's running back, Luffy at the side of Sabo as they hobble away towards the bay. His fists are all fire now. _Damn him! Boy, run away before you get killed too!_

 _...Why can't you be marines? All three of you..._ Even as he thought that, he ruefully shakes his head.

* * *

_"Pirate!" Ace shouts over the crackle of the fire. Luffy is in between them, busy gorging himself over the feast they've been roasting over the campfire._

_"Marine!" Garp retorts, raising his fist. Ace ignores it with the easiness of experience._

_"PIRATE!"_

_"MARINE!"_

_"I'm done!" By the time they finish their argument, Luffy's finished all of their food. Both Ace and he stare in disbelief as the youngest goes right into sleep, murmuring satisfied sounds of '~meat~' while snoring._

_"If Luffy's on board a Marine Ship." Ace snickers, "He'll finish all the rations within the week."_

_"I guess so!" Garp scratches the back of his head in thought. He had actually done that within five days, much to the dismay of those on board, including Tsuru-chan and Sengoku._

_The two spontaneously erupt into laughter._

* * *

Oh, who's he kidding? "Yeah right, as if any of those two would become marines." He's got the heart to laugh at this now that Luffy is no longer in danger. If only Ace had not jumped right back into the battlefield though...

Then his former opponent grins. It's not those grins of relief that the Whitebeard Pirates are sporting at the sight of Ace safe and sound. No. It's the _I am so going to pwn you so badly your head would be spinning round and round._

And the whole place _trembles._

* * *

Sengoku frowned as reports continued to stream in from all over. He collapsed to his knees, watching as the duo continued to run away from the execution platform, their original captive piggybacking their replacement. _It's all over now..._

Bad enough that Portgas D. Ace's execution was botched after he was (probably?) rescued by a set of pirates with no bounties. Worse was that due to the Visual Den Den Mushi would have been relaying the events on the battlefield up until the start of Whitebeard's retreat, but information about the subsequent events would have even reached the sky islands, by the looks of the allies that had retreated after being notified of Ace's disappearance.

Furthermore, Garp, despite his easy going manner would retire after this. Today's events (has it only been a few hours?) would have been the last straw that broke the camel's back. Sengoku has long understood that the only reason that Garp had stayed so long instead of retiring was because of he and Tsuru. And with the _spectacle_ that is the botched execution and subsequent counter-attack of Whitebeard, he would have to resign from his post in order to make amends for his failure.

"Let's not fight anymore!" One of Garp's apprentices, a pink-haired boy screams. Oh he wants to, but now that the pirates have the upperhand, it's on _their_ terms that the war ends.

"Zehahahaha!" And here comes another player. _This is an utter mess._ Blackbeard comes, and several of his subordinates utter cries of bewilderment. Straw Hat Luffy's escape of Impel Down has provoked another break out, this time of the worst criminals. _See what you've done, Garp's grandson?_ Many of them were captured through the painstaking efforts of the Marines, with _many losses_ suffered on their account. To see the worst criminals free once again? Many of the victims who had suffered under the tender mercies of people like "Demon Sheriff" Laffitte or Shiliew "Of the Rain" would be crying for the heads of those responsible. The name of the Marines were going to go down once again.

At least Blackbeard seems to be intended on taking on Whitebeard and not the Marines though. He watches Marshall D. Teach head towards Whitebeard, mouth in a toothy grin as he dissolves his fist into the 'flames of darkness' that users of the Yami Yami No Mi were reputed to have, while Akainu is moving closer for another blow.

Then the whole battlefield _shakes_. He sees Whitebeard looking around in confusion, and the other division commanders fall in shock and surprise. Strange, if Whitebeard wasn't involve in that Earthquake, than who had released that shock wave?

His eyes lands on Ace, who's huffing madly. _Conquerer's Haki. Of course._ The son of Roger would possess that ability that only arises in one in a million. What's the probability of that happening, huh? Blackbeard whips around, mouth still locked in that horrifying grin.

"Ace!" He sings out, "How was your spell at Impel Down!"

"You bastard!" Portgas D. Ace replies, sending _Dai Enkai: Entei_ at Blackbeard. Teach merely stretches out a hand, letting the darkness absorb the blow while leaving him unharmed.

"Have you forgotten, Ace? It didn't work on me then. Why should it work now?" He manipulates the darkness, causing Ace to fly towards him-

Only to stutter his blow as a pole strikes him right on the head.

"Leave Ace alone!" The attacker cries as he flies away from Blackbeard, only to end up close to Ace, shielding him with his body. Ace's staring at him in astonishment, mouth open, but Sengoku focuses on the newbie who's joined Whitebeard, and _recognizes him._

_HOW THE HELL'S THAT A DISGUISE!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Sengoku is so done with this. So am I, for that matter. There were too many combatants at Marineford, it's so tiring trying to keep track of all of them.
> 
> Meanwhile, where's Kizaru? Who are the 'no-name' pirates responsible for rescuing Ace and bringing him to Marineford? Will the truth of the wanderer/Goku finally emerge? Some of these answers will be relayed-in the next chapter


	12. Winner

"Don't. Touch. Ace." Goku spat out, using his pole to ward off Blackbeard. _No no no._ It was happening again. He couldn't understand, hadn't he done enough already? Or was it too much to ask for Ace to be rescued from Marineford? Shit, he had to get the old man and Ace out of here, for their group to retreat safely away.

Right now, Blackbeard's changed target from Ace to him. _Good._ "Ace, get back to the ship _now."_ Ace looks way too exhausted to fight competently, what with unleashing _Dai Enkai: Entei_ along with his assault on Marineford. "If you stay here any longer, it would only lead to the rest of the commanders to stay here to guard you and Whitebeard." He tightened his grip on his pole, before lunging at Blackbeard.

He launches a series of attacks on Blackbeard. Duck, strike, sidestep. His old skills renewed as his usual attacks had to be avoided. Devil Fruit powers negated by sea water. He flicks some water onto Blackbeard, the man simply waves his hand and repels the water. He _hated_ dealing with gravity opponents.

"Pistol." He laces his attack with Armament Haki, and lands a surprisingly satisfying blow onto Blackbeard's face. Blackbeard rebounds away, and he's scared. Good.

Then his neck _tingles._ His Observation Haki notices Kizaru creeping up from behind, ready to launch another attack on the unsuspecting Marco, who's busy absorbing the magma dogs that Akainu's been launching.

 _Wait. Light can't escape from black holes._ Grinning, he swats Blackbeard towards Kizaru. Kizaru tries to avoid the incoming man, but gets hit anyway. He can't speed his way away from the man who's made of darkness, because if he dissolves into light, the Yami Yami no Mi would suck him up, so he uses Armament Haki to attempt to mitigate the impact that the larger man's bulk would have on him. Anyway, this would-

" _POPS!"_ He hears Thatch yell, and turns his head back. Akainu's shot of _Meigo_ shoots clean through Whitebeard's torso. _Why didn't the others protect him?_ Oh right, Blackbeard couldn't have come alone. Vista was originally up against Shiliew, while Jozu was defending against attacks by Jesus Burgess, but Blackbeard's sniper's been busy. Curiel's down, but Haruta's guarding him while defending against Doc Q. It's not a good match up, as Haruta's swords weren't a good defence against the explosive apples that Blackbeard's doctor carries.

He looks to the ship. They were only a few minutes run away from the bay, but Aokiji's been busy. The whole place is now frozen with _Ice Age,_ and it looks unlikely to emerge quickly.

Yet, Aokiji isn't launching attacks on the _Moby Dick._ He's been kept away from projectile range by Izou and Rakuyo, while Namur and the other fishmen on board are making use of the water to break the frozen obstacles getting them to safety.

...Why hadn't the rest of the Marines attacked yet? Though those below Captain's rank had been knocked out by Ace's successful Conqueror's Haki, Smoker and the rest of the Marines should have been attacking the Whitebeard ships...

Ah. He sees one _Desert Spade_ and a wicked pair of swords attacking Smoker and Tashigi respectively, wielded by Crocodile and Mr. 1. Buggy is leading a motley team of temporary crew around the sides of the _Moby Dick_ in order to stamp out the Marines who had remained conscious after Ace's shock wave. Probably because he wants to remain as far as he could from Goku. It looks like Luffy's awake too, as cannon balls continue to get deflected and 'returned' to the Marines by the rubbery teen. Jinbe's helping, judging by the waves emitting from the side of the bay.

But he's more preoccupied with Akainu now.

"Thatch, get him to the ship." He felt himself say. "I'll deal with Akainu."

"No." Whitebeard utters. "There is no ship to take me to the new age." Anger builds up at that sentence. He knows Whitebeard's spoken of that before, but he's gained a soft spot for him. It's hard not to, seeing how he's one of the most caring people the wanderer's ever met.

"That applies to me more than it is to you." A controlled burst of Haki sends Whitebeard into unconsciousness. As Thatch and Marco stare at him in disbelief, Goku sends another wave of Haki through the crowd, knocking out a path full of Marines.

"Please retreat first. I'll explain this later." Marco glares at him, but it's half-hearted. He knows they're outmatched, seeing that the current Shichibukai haven't made their presence known yet, and their allies been told to flee to safety. It's a miscalculation on their part, because they _hadn't known that Ace would reappear,_ but it can't be helped.

"You _Pirate._ " There are no words that could describe his hatred for Akainu. He felt his old scar wince at the reminder of Akainu. That man had _killed his brother._ And after the two years of training, it took a _hell_ of an effort to finally become Pirate King.

"What can I say? I'm only an outlaw after all." He heaves his pole onto his shoulder. "But how about you? Shall we talk about the massacre of citizens at Ohara? Or the killing of innocents just because they were _pregnant at the time of the Pirate King's death?_ " He's outraged about both, the former more than the latter, because he couldn't do anything at the time.

He couldn't do anything at all. Because time is cruel. If one stretches the fabric, the fabric would only collapse back to it's original position, even harder. It took him the deaths of the Rumbar Pirates in order to see that.

 _I'm sorry Brook._ He thinks back to the war that the Rumbar Pirates had with the natives of the island they had visited. Rather than encountering an enemy ship, they had died of disease, a Grand Line flu that West Blue Pirates had no immunity to. So Brook had to watch as his captain and his crewmates fell one by one to a simple bug which _shouldn't have occurred_ in the first place.

When one bends the fabric, one has to keep in mind that the rubber band of time is capricious. You may perceive it to be flexible, and bendable to your wishes. But you would take too long to find out that the rubber band springs back if the pins you use to stretch and warp the band are too weak to hold onto the changes that you make.

It took him emerging onto the ship with a Tone Dial, to _inspire_ them to make one last song, not only for Laboon, but for Brook, because they hadn't brought a tone dial with them. This only occurred because the wanderer had purposely shifted the winds such that the Rumbar Pirates could avoid the enemy ship, only to wound up on an island with a native bug that the ship's doctor couldn't identify, much to their ruin.

He hated, _hated_ himself then, because he knew he was _controlling_ the events of others, rather than allowing things to play out like before. It's not right, for the Pirate King to gain power over others. The Pirate King was the most free, but did that mean he was free to take control, to _manipulate_ his subjects like _puppets on a string_? _If past me were to see me like this-_ he thought as he pierced through Akainu's defences, only to quickly retreat because Kizaru's _Kusanagi_ would have hit him- _he would hated me._

For all his years of not wanting to become like his enemies, like _Crocodile,_ like _Doflamingo_ , he had become almost like them.

In fact, it was his crew that had saved him. That had reminded him, that whatever happens, he's _got to_ protect them. So he _had tried so hard to protect their families._ But he had _failed._ Franky's mentor was still killed. Robin's island was still wiped off the map, even when he had made sure that the poneglyphs that the island had stored had been moved away to safety. Usopp's mother had died. Chopper's father figure had succumbed to the mushrooms, even when Wapol had been sufficiently distracted that day. Cocoyashi was still attacked.

And Kuina... _Kuina_...

* * *

_"Uncle." Kuina had looked at him with sad tender eyes. "I can't grow any stronger than Zoro."_

_"You can!" He had replied. "I've seen swordswomen who had defeated the strongest swordsman in the world before!"_

_"No. Not before he had reached his peak." She had argued back. "Men would always be stronger than women. And Zoro, I'm not going to let him give up his dream because of me. But, can I ask a request?"_

_The wanderer had nodded, his heart sinking._

_She walked out of the room, and a few moments later, he could hear Kuina rushing down the stairs._

* * *

Time was a fickle mistress. _But,_ he thought as he dodged another blow from Akainu, _it's my win._

* * *

Marco didn't want to run. In fact, he wanted to scream, he wanted to create fiery havoc and rain terror on the _people who had attacked his Pops, who had captured his brother._ Ace looked to be of the same mind, but the wanderer's look had seemed desperate, but determined. Besides, if the wanderer's will was enough to _knock out_ Pops, it didn't seemed like they would have succeeded in protesting against him.

Haruta's acting as vanguard, and a few of their men had sprang off the ship in order to provide more support, but there were more Marines, headed by a Vice Admiral heading towards them.

...And there he goes flying off along with one of the Blackbeard crew.

"Out of my sight!" Boa Hancock continues to turn both marine and enemy pirate alike to stone. "Or I will kill you. And no one would curse me, because I am beautiful. _Slave Arrow!_ "

Okay. He could work with that. Why was one of the Shichibukai protecting them? Especially one as eccentric (even among pirates) as the Pirate Empress. Marco really...didn't want to figure why that had just occurred.

Dusty's off the ship now, and he's got Ace onto his shoulder. It looks like Ace's body has finally protested and shut down involuntarily.

Ace's brother, on the other hand, is awake. He's helping the fishmen to provide air cover as they continue to work on breaking the ice preventing them from descending.

"Is Whitebeard-ossan okay?" He calls back as the nurses pull Whitebeard into the operating room, still hovering protectively over the ship.

"He's got hit by Akainu." Several times, in fact. They hadn't expected Blackbeard, and Marco curses the fact that they had been led away while Pops was left unprotected. He should have known. Pops had weakened, and as he once admitted, _he couldn't remain the strongest man in the world._ Marco had forgotten that, and Whitebeard's reaction time has been slowed sufficiently that Akainu had landed a few dangerous blows.

Now it's all up to his sisters to ensure that their Pops doesn't die.

A cold shiver went down his spine. He's not ready to take over Pops' position yet. He _doesn't want to be Captain._ To him, Pops is invincible, and he shudders to think that one day, he might die. Marco doesn't want to find out if he's up for it, for all that he's the First Division Commander.

"Zehahaha!" Shit, Teach is heading towards them. Fully aware that the crew is currently not up to another battle with Teach (they've been exhausted from their fight with the Marines already) and their previous fight has tired them out even more.

 _"Black Hole."_ All of the cannon balls that Straw Hat's been deflected, instead of firing upon the Marines, are attracted by Teach's Devil Fruit Power. Straw Hat watches in bewilderment, as even those that had been heading for the _Moby Dick_ had changed trajectory and moved towards Teach instead.

"He's going to relaunch them at us instead." He warns as the last of the _Moby Dick's_ crew enter the boat. "We need to get away!" _Moby Dick_ 3's destruction was a wake up call as to Teach's new power. He doesn't want the main ship to suffer that as well.

Straw Hat hears this, but his expression doesn't change as shards of metal fly towards Luffy-

And a whirlwind appears in front of them.

_What?_

_"Tatsumaki!"_ The whirlwind announces as it continues to deflect the shards a mile off from the _Moby Dick._

"Did a hurricane just appear in front of us?" Thatch's jaw dropped along with several others as a figure stepped out, while the whirlwind continued to swell to accommodate the additional firepower that the Marines had found.

* * *

Luffy was ready to start bouncing back the metal pieces when he heard a familiar cry.

"Zoro!" He said blissfully as the swordsman leaped out of the swirling chaos of wind and metal. Then he paused. Unlike what he remembered, Zoro was covered in a dark shadowy substance. Not like how Teach was, because it's darker and somehow more solid, a soft glow outlining him against the background.

"Captain. Get onto the ship. Cook's busy heating up the surroundings, and navigator's up in the sky conducting. We've got to get going." the swordsman said in short breaths. Luffy look at him in wonderment.

"Shitty Marimo!" He could hear Sanji shouting back. "You forgot to say the important part! _Diable Jambe_!" The ice around the ship melted as the cook skated over.

"Zoro! I'm sorry we couldn't meet on Sabody, but I'm glad you're here." The swordsman scratched his head.

"See here, I'm not _your_ Zoro. He's still stuck in Kuraigana Island. I'm actually from the future. We time traveled to save your ass." Luffy stopped and stared.

"Wow! Cool!" Future? Time Travel? Luffy was amazed. So the swordsman was actually from the future! "Hey, do future people poop?"

"Talk to you later." The swordsman dismissively tossed Luffy onto the _Moby Dick_. Luffy wanted to stretch out, but his arms felt heavy, and there was something making his eyelids droop, and then-

* * *

"That's enouuuuuugh!" A cry rang out throughout Marineford. Borsalino turns back curiously. Now who could that be?

"Let's stop this already!" Oh, it's that pink-haired apprentice of Vice Admiral Garp. Interesting, how could he have spoken so loudly? He sees the boy standing in front of some straggling Whitebeard Pirates from before. Eh? How come? He's a marine, isn't he? Why is he protecting some pirates? Did he not know what he was supposed to do?

"No more fighting! Let's end this!" Coby-ah yes, that was what his name was- cries out, ashamed and afraid, with tears streaming down his cheeks. "THIS IS A WASTE OF LIVES!"

"Our goals are no longer able to be accomplished! Chasing after pirates who have no will to fight...! Desiring for wars that could be prevented...!" Hey hey hey! He hasn't had this much excitement in a long time, y'know? Even if the Whitebeard Pirates didn't give much of a good fight, he still had some fun culling some of the pests that roamed the seas.

"Abandoning Marines that could be saved if tended to...! And just piling more sacrifices on top of them! Every Marine that falls from here on! Don't you think they'll look like...complete idiots?!" Well, what he said did just make sense. How interesting. A diamond in the rough, as Sengoku would have put it.

Borsalino will have to look at this interesting boy closely now. Some how, he thinks-

He thinks that this boy may have the potential of an Admiral.

* * *

Coby is panicking. He is completely sweating in fear. _Oh no...I'm going to die!_ Admiral Akainu is advancing towards him. He is _so_ dead. Why did he say that? He didn't know, except something in him had used his mouth to communicate the distress of the Marines. But the admiral had melted the Marines who had wanted to flee not because of fear but because they knew they were out of their lead is advancing towards him. There's no way he would be spared now!

 _"'Seconds'_ has been wasted..." He could hear Admiral Akainu mutter under his breath. "The Marines don't need soldiers who can't even keep their facts straight...!"

 _I have no regrets._ Coby thought, even as he closed his eyes in anticipation of the blow. _But make it quick_! He could still remember the distressed and horrified expressions that the soldiers bore as they were melted down by Akainu.

CLANG! Coby opened his eyes once again, to find a figure right behind him. The man had chin-length red hair, and bore a dark black coat hefted over his shoulder. In his right arm was a sword, defending against the fist of Akainu.

 _Red-haired Shanks?!_ He could distantly remember how Luffy had praised his mentor while on their trip to Shells Town. So this was the man that gave Luffy his Straw Hat? _He seems more...like a decent human being than Akainu._ He couldn't hear what the red head had said. Something about changing the fate of the world? He didn't know.

"Why is one of the four emperors here!" He heard someone else cry out, and he looks to see the flagship of Shanks sailing into the bay, now long since cleared of the existing ice floes.

"I've come to end this war!" Various members of the _Red Force_ landed near Shanks, each pointing a weapon at a Marine or in some cases, Blackbeard Pirates.

"The skirmish with another emperor, 'Kaido the Beast', has just happened yesterday! And he's already here?" He heard another cry. _Did that mean that he had purposely rushed here to stop this massacre? In that case, why didn't someone else nearer stop the battle before?_ Another 'presence' winked out of existence. There were so many deaths, so much _suffering_ happening. _Why didn't someone, anyone in the higher-ups put a stop to this battle?_

"Boss!" He saw a bulky man yell out. "This is the first time you've seen Luffy in 10 years! You sure it's alright not to see him?" He could see Shanks cast his gaze towards the retreating form of the _Moby Dick._ _He must wish to see him too, but Luffy said..._

"If I see him now, it'll be breaking the promise right...Luffy?" He hears Shanks whisper. _I see. So he's making sure not to break that promise too._

_...The nobility of pirates, huh?_

Though he may not know it at first, this proved to be the start of a schism that would engulf the Marines in several years...

* * *

_A/N: Please play the 15th opening, "We Go!" to enrich your reading experience._

* * *

"Then bring it on! We'll take care of every single one of you!" Shanks didn't hear it at first. As he watched the Whitebeard Pirates slink away, he scanned the area. Surprisingly, there were few casualties present. _Was it because of that person?_ He could probably imagine it. In fact, that was why his old captain had refused to take on such a burdensome role, after hearing about it. Shanks wouldn't want to take on the duty, but this man had done so... _Why?_

**_jitto dekinai tomarenai,_ **  
**_yoake ga osokute jirettai,_ **  
**_ichi, ni, SUNSHINE yon…We Go!_ **

All of a sudden, a jaunty tune on a violin burst onto the battlefield. Shanks couldn't help but raise his eyebrows. _Was that supposed to happen?_

**_hata wo ageyou BREAK OF ROMANCE DAWN,_ **  
**_namikaze tateyou SLEEP kara no JUMP START,_ **  
**_arienai sekai wo yuku nara,_ **  
**_kimi no tafunesu sore ga hitsuyou._ **

"SUPERRRRR!"

With an almighty crash, _an entire ship landed onto the bay._ Around the bay, jaws dropped as the ship with colourful sails proceeded to skid, do a somersault before finally stopping close to where Akainu was standing.

"YOU MISSED!" Someone shouted back.

"Yohohohoho! Have you seen a gentleman with a cloak and gloves around here?" A _skeleton_ dressed in a cravat, a three- piece suit with coat tails and holding a cane asked as he bowed, taking off his top hat. "I'm afraid we've missed him quite terribly."

"That's because we LANDED ON TOP OF HIM! _! We need to shift position!"

"Aye!"

Moria involuntarily shuddered. Then he stared at himself. _Why am I reacting like this?_

**_medachisugi sorette tsumi?_ **  
**_shimeitehai-tsumari WINNER,_ **  
**_jiyuu dakega ore tachi no ruuru,_ **  
**_shinpai nante dokofuku kaze~._ **

"Our captain needs to see a doctor!" _A humanoid_ emerged from the ship. "Please make way, make way!"

" _You're_ the doctor!" The monster did some funny dance, swaying his arms and legs as though a breeze had brushed past him.

"Shut up! As if that makes me happy!" Meanwhile, from the bay, two figures soared over the heads of the Marines, skipping and somersaulting while _whooping_ like _maniacs._

Bastille took one good look at the Jolly Roger. _To hell with the ceasefire._ He led a charge of those still active enough to attack the ship. "We can no longer let the name of the Marines be besmirched."

**_ttai one piece ichibannori,_ **  
**_yume miru kokoro wa choo dekai,_ **  
**_samenai koto ga daiji-._ **

"Shitty captain, always making us worry like that!" The faster figure noted as he slowed to a stop. However, the Marines close to him were only able to distinguish a dark shadowy person, a swordsman by the look of the swords.

Dracule Mihawk tilted his head to one side in thought. The figure seemed familiar...

"_-swan!" The second figure waved back at the ship. Like the first figure, his own facial features were covered in shadow, even as the sun shone brightly on the scene. "Did you see that, Mellorine? That stupid _marimo_ tossed Luffy like a ragdoll! But I melted the ice so that people could get through!"

"-Number four..." The first figure muttered as he deposited the only one remaining of Whitebeard's men onto the ship. "You're being loud again..." A gigantic tic mark appeared on the head of the second figure, while fire emerged from both the arms and legs.

"As if you have any right to tell me that!" The second figure, no longer so lovestruck replied as he collected the abandoned pole from the battlefield.

"Yeah yeah, whatever perverted cook?" The first figure waved a dismissive hand, causing the heat emitting from the second figure to increase in temperature and he charged towards the first. " _Diable Ja--"_

"Out of the way!" A female figure screamed as she swatted the cook towards the Marines. As the cook gradually grew into a fireball, the Marines felt their eyes widen in disbelief.

"He's not a fire logia, is he?"

"Shit! Get out, get out of the way!"

"We're supposed to be retreating! Not doing this!"

Sengoku felt his eye twitch in disbelief as the crew of the new ship generally wreaked havoc on the Marines. Worst of all, it wasn't even intentional, as most of the damage was done because of the crossfire between the cook and the navigator, while plants continued to multiply and devour the concrete. Lasers shot back and forth as a bulky person fought with Kizaru, as the place continued to freeze irrespective of the fact that Aokiji wasn't even  _there._ There wasn't any killing intent, implying that the new set of pirates were just _playing around_ with the Marines.

"This is a disaster. An absolute disaster." He palmed his face as he sat down among the rubble. Whitebeard was gone with his allies with few casualties, and the Marines had proved to be an incompetent force, what with nosebleeds, cannibalistic plants, _cotton candy_ growing like weeds...

Garp on the other hand simply sat down and laughed with relief. The entire event had been a circus from start to finish. And his apprentice had helped in stopping the pointless battle! He should probably bring both boys to see his favorite bartender and a feast.

**_tto dekinai tomarenai,_ **  
**_yoake ga osokute jirettai,_ **  
**_ichi, ni, SUNSHINE yon…We Go!_ **

"Your visual Den Den Mushi." A female voice spoke out from behind the fog, pale pink hand offering Aokiji a Den Den Mushi. "Your publicists would be glad to know that any recording has long since stopped by the time Ace appeared."

Aokiji could only stare as he took the snail from the figure. "...Are you who I think you are?"

"Nope. We were hoping to grab our captain under ...less spectacular circumstances, but I guess it can't be helped." The shadowy figure from behind the fog shrugged its shoulders, before further disappearing into the fog.

Aokiji scratched his head awkwardly. _Right then. I did not see that just happen._

**_ore tachi wa...koko made kitaze,_ **  
**_ore tachi wa yuku...yume no arika e,_ **  
**_dare mo oitekanaize-._ **

"Any stragglers, come aboard!" A voice sang out as the first figure carried the wanderer onto the ship, despite all protests to the contrary.

"Shitty moss-head, I can carry the captain!" The second figure kicked at the first.

"Watch it!" A lightning bolt struck the second figure on the head. "_ is carrying him! If he gets even more injured, you'll be sorry!"

The first figure let out a snicker. "Hen-pecked."

"WHAT WAS THAT!"

**_nshin-aru nomi sore ga chikai,_ **  
**_yume ga hajimatta ano hi kara,_ **  
**_mezasu mirai wa onaji-._ **

Akainu wished to move. In his mind, the pirates who had utterly dismissed the Marines and continued on their own business had to be punished. Yes. They had to be.

But he still couldn't advance towards the intruders. Around him, a huge mass of plants continued to wind around him, and he felt himself grow weaker. _The plant's been laced with seastone!_

Behind him, another figure smirked as he retreated back to the shadows. After all, a turned back is a sniper's duty. He should have known better.

**_tto dekinai tomarenai,_ **  
**_kokoro no taiyou shizumanai_ **  
**_ichi, ni, Sunshine, Ichi, ni, Sunshine,_ **  
**_ichi, ni, Sunshine yon…WE GO!_ **

"Are we reloaded yet!" The female figure at the centre of the chaos screamed at the crew as the sails were furled. With one panicked look, those present hurtled back onto the ship, one after another. 

"We are READY! COUP DE BURST!"

With an almighty plume of smoke, the ship went flying again, leaving behind the distinct smell of cola.

**_WE GO!_ **

Both Marines and Pirates stared at the empty spot. The serious atmosphere had been _completely_ shattered to pieces by the arrival of the galleon.

"So, let's just...end the battle?" Shanks scratched his head in confusion.

* * *

A/N: The most serious of events turn humorous once the Straw Hats enter the scene. Next up! Interrogation by less than subtle means!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Even the most serious of events turn humorous once the Straw Hats enter the scene.  
> Marineford Arc: End?


	13. Disappearance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Pirate King's Crew thinks. Sengoku recovers from the fall out of the botched execution. Someone thought dead returns. Someone thought alive disappears.

This is what it means to be the crew of the Second Pirate King.

Their captain is the craziest person that they'll ever remember. From his self-serving, capricious tendencies comes an innate intention to protect, to _defend_ their nakama at the cost of his own life and his dreams. Sure, his actions have often led the entire crew into deep trouble (And in other circumstances, were it not _him,_ they would have long since walked off in search of another captain, another way to achieve their plans). However, their trust in him is equal, even overwhelmed by the innate trust that he has in them to protect his back, to guard against attacks by others.

That is why they choose to follow him even to their deaths. To them, he probably would be the most person in their lives, more so then they can ever say it out loud. For two long years, they have trained their hardest, and after that, they now possess the ability to follow him into the madness that usually revolves around him. They have followed him through despair and hope, through tragedy and comedy, and they would follow him to the end. They had even done so in the end.

Their captain is waking up. One by one, they trail onto the deck, spreading out the cook's idea of a picnic. Others would argue it a feast, from lamb chops, to cotton candy, to French pastries which belonged more to a patisserie on some up street market rather than the floor of the pirate ship, but well, when have they cared about appearances?

Their captain opens his eyes. He immediately sits up, regardless of his current injuries (which Franky would forever never forget, even if the crew stops teasing him after a while) and stares at them hungrily.

 _"I punched Sabo and he disappeared. That was when I knew he didn't exist."_ The current Luffy had explained in the Sacred Palace. Thus, they had known, and recognised the need for touch. Their captain had always been a tactile person, learning kinetically, speaking with his punches than with words, and there is no filter through his brain, but they do not mind that. All that matters is that he _speaks_ to them, that he knows that they are as real as he is, and they don't mind the bruises that will occur after such an event.

"Gomu Gomu no-" The crew winces. It's coming, they know how hard their captain punches, and they know that it'll hurt very much, but it would be _worth it,_ because then their captain would know that they're real, they're _here._

 _"HUG!"_ Sanji blinks in shock, Chopper and Usopp have their mouths wide open in confusion, Nami and Zoro are about to protest, while Robin smiles in a enigmatic fashion as the blow doesn't come. Instead, what their captain was doing was stretching his arms out and winding them around the entire group. _Of course._ He of all people would accept the strangest of situations. It's what he's always done.

"AIIIM SOWW GURADD you're OKAAAY~!" He drags out through a choked voice. Tears and snot are pouring down his cheeks in an exaggerated fashion, and he's too busy sobbing to care. A heavy weight has been lifted off his mind and he seems to grow into less a caricature of himself, but the man who had rescued them, who had gave them a life out of what they had planned for, who had led them to Raftel and furthered their dreams under him, even if they had long since put aside their own priorities in favour of making him the Pirate King.

They surround him, crying as well, because now that he knows that they are here, it's okay. Their captain no longer feels that he is alone. They stay like that for what seemed like years, tearing up, spilling their worries, their fears and their thoughts throughout the five year period between the time of their arrival, and _now_.

Finally, their captain sits up, closing his mouth, using his cloak to wipe off any existing tears. It's disgusting, but it's so like their captain that Nami chuckles at the immaturity of his behaviour. They too stare hungrily at him. Gone was the red cardigan he wore. In place was an open shirt of dull grey, pants of the corresponding colour, and a dark green cloak that heavily resembled what his father had worn during their early years as a pirate. His hat is gone to who knows where, which is surprising as he had always wore it even until his execution. He wears gloves now, and they recognise the insignia that is embroidered in.

"Luffy, why did you choose to travel back in time?" Zoro asks, bluntly as always. Their captain smiles sadly (his sad smile is more frequent than the face splitting grin from ear to ear, but they've gotten used to it after Raftel).

"The world was splitting up." He tells them as Franky pulls out a table, on which they pile loads and loads of food. The captain doesn't touch it.

After his execution, he explains, the world went through one upheaval after another. Soon, it became fact that the Marines were _finished_ as a world power, and with the closure of the Shichibukai, the World Government had became plagued with neverending chaos and destruction. It grew up to a point where in order to distract the unhappy populace, the Neo-Marines (for that was what the Marines who followed the path of 'Absolute Justice' were called) had put up show trials. Their friends and allies have featured heavily, due to their heavy association with them.

Even with the captain's best efforts, he was only able to evacuate Fishman Island to the surface. The first place they had reached after crossing the Red Line was no more, as mermaids and fishman alike were forced to leave their hometown of a thousand years to the surface of the sea. Even then, it was not enough. Alabasta, long threatened by increasing desertification, _lost_ its status as a kingdom. When Vivi and her court had refused to move to Mariejois even as their blood had qualified them for it, they were cast out of the World Government. Dalton had provided them shelter, but the World Government had imposed economic sanctions on Drum Island instead, choking the livelihood of the Medical Nation.

Chopper silently weeps as the wanderer tells of how Kureha had sacrificed her life in order to ensure that the sanctions were lifted by force. He is not the only one. The Straw Hat Crew, especially those that had been through the attempted coup by Crocodile are appalled by the World Government's irresponsibility towards its members, even when the royalty of that country had the potential of being a Celestial Dragon.

The Kuja, long isolated, had been forced to open its gates to the World Government and its allies. First, they were forced to use bellies in place of their original currency. And as the World Government became even more destabilised, the value of their goods dropped, and they were increasingly reliant on the produce of other countries, greatly intertwining trade between its surrounding neighbours. However, the Kuja had adopted their own native currency for a reason. Whatever they produce, other nations could copy and improve on, and Boa Hancock had withdrawn from the Shichibukai in protest of the erosion of her nation's culture for the benefit of the World Government. After all, now that restrictions had been lifted, and the Isle of Women no longer hidden, many of her tribal natives had moved away in search of greener pastures, rather than face the loss of wealth that surely would befall the Kuja.

The World Government is swift in following up. Within ten days, the Isle of Women no longer exists. Boa Hancock had made her last stand, shouting and screaming on the way down as her sisters furiously cursed their enemies.

The Pirate King was unwilling to allow this to continue, to see the destruction of his friends. With the help of his allies, he formulated a 'path' in which the traverse through time was not only possible, but would allow the traveller to exist even when the past had been changed. Because two of the name could not exist, he learned that he could never answer to his birth name.

"That's the difference then." Robin points out. "The more we avoid using our names, the more real we become." Already, they could feel themselves partially moving from one dimension to the other. It had puzzled them greatly at first, even as they struggled to piece themselves from currents in the air, from stormy waves, from the whistling in the wind, from savory delicacies, from flowers, from _nature._ They had painstakingly regained their _selves,_ becoming just solid enough to rescue their captain from Marineford. It had taken them three and a half years to become _themselves_ and seek out the others, and it was only through a long period of not talking to each other to figure out a link between their solidity and the use of names.

However, there is no longer a need to worry. Because they are back together.

"What happened to the others?" The captain refers to the rest of the crew, the ones who had joined the Straw Hats after the two years.

"We couldn't find them." Sanji answers, smoking on his cigarette. "We found each other." The captain frowns.

"We had miscalculated." He continues with his story. Instead of shooting to Marineford, where his allies had reasoned as a turning point, he had shot far far before his own birth. He had tried to rescue Brooke, but even as the small details changed, the greater picture remained. Eventually, he stopped trying altogether, and he had decided to hide out instead, at the lonely island of Raftel.

"The great and mighty Usopp has seen that!" Their sniper exclaims. "But you had been kidnapped by Roger!"

"I had stowed away." Their captain corrects with a slight smile. First he had assaulted them, preventing them from conquering the Grand Line through constant bombardments from Sea Kings and the native fish species. Then, he had tested their resolve, linking events and placing them into difficult situations. Finally, he had allowed Raftel to be accessible.

"That no good brat had destroyed half of Raftel!" He fumes, "He kept on fishing and hunting until there was no food that could be consumed left!" They laugh together, because their captain has always prioritized his stomach and meat over the wills of others, and that has not changed even after he had conquered the Grand Line himself.

"Luffy," Zoro asks, pointing to the spread on the table. "Why didn't you eat?" Their captain pulls his face into a solemn expression.

"I can't." He says, laying a hand on his stomach. "This body doesn't allow me to taste the food that passes through my mouth, nor enjoy the feeling of food in my tummy. Even if I chewed and ate, it would not make me feel good."

The cook is thunderstruck. From time in memorial, most would know that the best way to make Luffy agreeable was through food. Be it raw meat on a plate, or the fine delicacies that Sanji would offer to the girls and would inevitably be stolen by the irrepressible rubber man, their captain had been a lover of food.

Luffy without food...it's almost unheard of. Yet now, it exists, as could be seen on the untouched plate laden with goodies Sanji had known he would enjoy.

"Oh my." The musician says, because he can't describe the horror he feels. He knows what it's like, being alone and with the thought that the rest of his crew were dead, but even he had a palate that could taste the stronger smelling foods. To be unable to enjoy food, be it good or lousy, would have been a painful suggestion, let alone a torture for their greedy rubber man. But their captain had endured that for at least fifty years in order to survive to Marineford.

The shipwright could sympathise with this. He knows what it's like, after Tom dies, and he was cast adrift on an empty ship with only the will to get back and the determination to do whatever he could to get back. He lays a metallic hand on his captain, head bowed in silent consolation.

But their captain is far stronger than what his rubbery self looks. He grins, and alarm bells start ringing in the heads of the smarter ones in his crew.

"There was no way I could have survived for so long as a human being." He says, as he takes off one glove after another. Then, he proceeds to roll up the long sleeves of his shirt.

"There you are, bearer of the 'D'." A solemn figure steps out from beneath the shadows of the ship. The crew rises to their feet, but the wanderer continues to remain sitting. The figure is cloaked as well, but his is black. A sultry voice, neither male nor female whistles.

"Your friend made a deal with me." He emphasizes his point by placing his hand on his chest. "In return for staying far longer than a mortal should, he had agreed to become my helper."

* * *

"I don't understand why you insist on going here anyway." Sengoku narrowed his eyes as his old friend continued to drag him along. "We have work to do in Marineford!"

"You have, I don't" Garp revels in the fact that he's retired, demoted to training up the new recruits. Well, he probably doesn't see it as such. To Garp's simple mind, there were only three things: his three grandsons (Whitebeard's Second Division Commander, a Supernova that invaded Enies Lobby and burnt the flag of the World Government, and a member of the Revolutionary Army. Sengoku won't admit it, but he thinks it's pretty good for a bunch of brats from Dawn Island. Then again, _Garp_ came from there. Must be something in the water. ), his apprentices (specifically the one who had called for a ceasefire; even in the face of incoming doom by Akainu), and food.

Must be nice, to have their priorities set out in order. Sengoku was monitoring Marineford, but as of two days after the battle, he had handed in his resignation letter, and was expected to assist in the transitional period as the higher-ups picked his successor. Kong, the former Fleet Admiral, now World Government Commander in Chief had been disappointed, but he understood Sengoku's unspoken reasons.

As Fleet Admiral, he had obligation of being deployed to Marineford, to take care of logistic matters. While this on one hand meant that the Admirals and those below them was in charge of enforcing the law, it also meant that he, as some one higher on the totem pole, would be able to monitor their actions. While his next nominal role of Inspector General was meant to do the same thing, Sengoku felt that his authority would be less regarded then as compared to being Fleet Admiral.

Which was all very well and fine for Garp who's mind is concentrated on life's basic pleasures. Sengoku however felt that there was a curious emptiness inside him. Yes, he had disliked the role that he had played in enforcing the law of the World Government, especially in cases where he had personally felt that the law had been against _his_ idea of 'Justice'. Though the two words may seem respectable, he sometimes wondered why couldn't the Marines as a whole agree on what justice is?

Jaguar D. Saul's death... would be a stain on his conscience as he reflected on his years as a Fleet Admiral. He had pushed all of his doubts to one side when executing his duty, but now that he had the free time to think, to look back on what he had _done..._ He didn't like how this train of thought went.

Anyway, he had nominated Aokiji has his next successor, but there were talks that another might be chosen. Sengoku personally hoped that it _wasn't_ Kizaru. He had Borsalino under him during the confrontations with 'Golden Lion' Shiki, and he didn't think that man had the responsibility, or even the cautiousness needed to carry out his duties as Admiral, let alone Fleet Admiral. On the other hand, he didn't think that Akainu would serve as a good replacement. Disregarding the fact that he had practiced 'Absolute Justice' and that he had been a bit extreme, Sengoku personally found himself worried for the Marines. Akainu was a polarizing figure, especially between the extremists who held the view that the laws had to be followed to the letter, and the moderates who practiced 'Moral Justice'.

On the third hand, Aokiji was popular with the Marines under him, and had treated matters under his command pragmatically. However, he was often found sleeping on the job, or cycling to a place where no Marine officer could find him in order to sleep. However, in the aftermath of that botched execution, Aokiji had been working double time, catching the last of those who had escaped Impel Down.

In fact, it was due to his and Smoker's good work that most of Blackbeard's temporary crew were just that-temporary. However, when he had asked for Wanted posters to be put out on the remaining Level 6 escapees, the World Government had ordered a cover-up of the whole event in order to prevent the Marines from being besmirched. He had been infuriated more so than he originally thought he would.

_"The World Government has..regarding the level 6 case...Told us to hide it...! That any loss of face greater than this could result in a loss of trust in the government..."_

_"Are you kidding me!"_

If he hadn't wanted to resign then, he knew that it was no longer a matter of choice. He had always known that the World Government had been built on paranoia and lies, that was why he had been ordered to carry out actions that he personally disapproved off. Sometimes, they were reasonable, such as the clamping down on the so-called adventurers who were but pirates without a Jolly Roger. However, with things such as Ohara, with _Saul_ and now with the cover-up of the most dangerous escapees...

He did not voice out these concerns to Kong, but Aokiji and he had discussed about it after he had tendered his resignation. The subject of Saul was avoided, but it was clear that it was heavy in both their minds. He didn't know what to think of the organization that he, Tsuru and Garp had worked for so long. Were the Marines truly working for the side of justice anymore? He and Tsuru had set out with such high hopes of changing the face of the organization, of making sure that there would be a decreasing number of people damaged both physically and mentally due to the actions of the pirates. But what had they done instead? Out of the three, two had already resigned, and Tsuru had continued because Marineford couldn't lose the second in command in addition to the original head.

Perhaps Garp had perceived his thoughts, or was otherwise impulsive as usual, because Sengoku found a bowl of noodles in tonkatsu broth with bonito flakes on the table without ordering it. Garp had a bowl full of roasted chashu meat, a _humongous_ pile of rice in a single bowl, and some vegetables stir-fried and liberally sprinkled with oyster sauce that had a note that said " _Eat your Vegetables!"_. Sengoku however had to restrain himself from palming his face, because Garp was devouring his meal and asking for seconds after five minutes. _Garp, would you not mind your matters?!_

Though it probably an act of consideration that Garp had taken them to a restaurant on Sabody after hours. The bartender (and possibly the owner of the aptly named _Merry's Bar_ ) looked sympathetic when Sengoku had given a long-suffering expression after watching Garp inhale his second meal. Garp had told him that Merry had kicked him out after he went through a wall, only letting him in after hours as a special privilege after he had complimented her tea, so maybe that sympathetic look was well-warranted.

Sengoku sipped the tea.

"This is good!" He muttered, and Merry blushed as she continued to polish her glasses. Garp gave her a wink, making her burst into fits of giggles.

Just then, the door opened once more. The windchimes tinkled as someone stepped through.

"Ah, that would be my employee! Ro, do you mind helping me wash up?" Merry wiped her hands on a cloth before moving to the backroom.

There was a tap of footsteps, a slight movement in the corner of his eyes. A rustle of clothing, the tinkling of glass against the counter. Water burst through a tap as long slim fingers rinsed the plates, the sound of fine china clinking against the granite sink. Sengoku felt his heart palpitate, his hands trembling with some strong emotion he couldn't name. His nerves became a chorus of unpracticed singers, singing in differing pitches with no harmony between them.

"Sengoku?"

Sengoku turned. The crescendo of voices in his head quietened, unable to infringe upon his suddenly stilled mind. There was only-

_Silence._

* * *

"It's another ship. Looks like it's carrying slaves."

"According to Merry, it is. She says that there are mermaids and fishmen on board, heading towards the Auction House."

"Oh really? That underworld broker's reliable. So is our leader, for letting us exact revenge on these _humans._ "

"Now now, it's not like our leader is not human, right?" A nervous laugh.

"He's a monster alright, the _Oni._ But he's a good human too!"

"Really?"

"Yes, our elderly leader knows his stuff _very well._ Who could have thought of underwater Den Den Mushi that could be used as a tool for inter-team discussion? Certainly not the Marines!"

"Apparently, he was from one of the Marine laboratories, and those were common for _experiments."_ There was a hiss. "I think that he feels guilty; look at the depressed face he always carries during our discussions."

"Of course he does, idiot!" A whack over the head of the first speaker. "His friend was executed by the organization that he once worked for. He decided that he could no longer trust the Marines, and so he left!"

"Don't go whispering our leader's secrets out loud, bastard. Anyway, we upset the boat, capsize it, and then rescue the prisoners, yes?"

"That was the plan." Lips widened to reveal sharp teeth. "But why don't we teach them a lesson about how _dangerous_ the **Self-Defence Force** could be."

As one, the team of fishmen smirked, predatory eyes gleaming.

"That human would condone it anyway."

* * *

_Back at the future Straw Hat Crew..._

The less quick ones have caught on. They growl and try to rush at the figure, but it is too late. The figure dodges them, clasping one bony hand over the wrists of the wanderer.

"You're mine now." Their captain tries to smile reassuringly, but with one word, he bursts into water _,_ spraying his crew with his life force.

"LUFFY!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: A suitably dramatic ending, I guess? Anyway, new summary, because I found the older one too vague.
> 
> Ah, the worries of retirement: From my observations of society, those who were formerly CEOs or leaders usually don't go quietly into retirement. Instead, they desire for some form of authority. They may seek out other leadership roles such as being the director of charitable foundations, or set out new companies instead. Sengoku here has retired from being head honcho (like a school principal, or permanent secretary, or VIP) to being an observer (kind of like a school inspector, except with less authority). He's going to be bored.
> 
> What an interesting set to retire in the next few years. :)
> 
> tonkatsu: Pork bone boiled for prolonged periods, with breaded pork fillet.
> 
> chashu: Roasted pork, kind of like ham but there isn't any mashing involved. It's sliced directly from the pig.
> 
> bonito flakes: Also known as katsuobushi, it tastes like onion skin, but it's actually made from smoked skipjack tuna. It's salty.-Which is why Merry insisted that Garp had to eat his vegetables, because meat is too rich, he's eating too much rice, and bonito's too salty! Sengoku's meal is a standard tonkatsu ramen with one soft-boiled egg, seaweed and chashu.
> 
> In other words, one eats unhealthily and asks for seconds even when Merry is providing it after hours and thus has to cook everything herself, one eats the standard meal. Garp and Sengoku, what a contrast in personality.


	14. No regrets

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three brothers renew their friendship. Meanwhile, a legend passes on.

"So, Sabo." Ace began, "What the _hell_?"

Luffy is busy munching on an ever diminishing pile of meat, much to the collective awe-struck horror of the Whitebeard Pirates. Bets had started to roll in by the time Luffy gets up to politely ask for seconds. Now, he is onto his fourth serving, and has slowed down only to listen to the conversation between one supposedly dead brother, and one nearly dead brother.

"Same here. You know how unpleasant it is to wake up finding out that your stupid brother was sent to Impel Down to be executed, and your other brother voluntarily went after him? Worst case of post-amnesia I had ever experienced." Sabo shoots back, dusting his hat. Ivankov had declared his work was done once Luffy and he were safely rescued from Marineford, and had proceeded to dash away to his own kingdom. Apparently, he's got a visitor of his own, and he wants to fully interrogate the disrespectful man that had invaded the peaceful shores of Kamabakka Kingdom. Sabo doesn't really want to learn more after that.

Sabo, in the meanwhile had decided to get to know his brothers a tad bit more and had leaped onto the ship after Luffy had been thrown on. He still thinks that Luffy and Ace were seven and ten respectively, and it's a shock to find out that ten years have passed without him, even if he had lived as a Revolutionary for those ten years. It'll be good to catch up on those missing years.

Everyone is politely pretending not to listen to their conversation, but Ace is loud, and Luffy is also loud, and the three are sitting extremely close together in order to talk to Sabo. The majority of those who were kicked out of the infirmary are probably eavesdropping.

"It's not like I wanted to get captured!" Ace protests, "And I didn't want Luffy to come after me either!"

"I wanted to rescue you!" Luffy interjects between bites of food. "Because you're my brother!"

"Idiot brother! Who ended up rescuing who in the end?"

"If I recall, it was me." Sabo says, drawing the attention of both brothers to himself. "If I wasn't there, the damage would have been a lot worse." There was pronounced grumbling at these words. The Whitebeard Pirates had been unhappy that the grand commotion they were about to cause was interrupted, but that's not to say they aren't appreciative of the cover that Ivankov, Inazuma and Sabo himself had given when they had retreated.

"I didn't want anyone to rescue me." Ace holds his head with his hands. "If it weren't because of my cursed blood...I shouldn't have existed in the first place! So many people were harmed because of me..."

"Ace." The First Division Commander comes up to them, holding a mug of brandy. "Your blood doesn't matter in this. Luffy loves you." Luffy nods enthusiastically, "Sabo loves you. We love you. Hell, even Thatch likes you when you're a ball of rage. You have a right to exist!"

"And besides, Whitebeard went forth to claim you. That probably gave him superior 'Dad' status." Sabo follows up with a finger pointing in the general direction of the infirmary.

"I don't think blood really matters. Look at Luffy! He didn't even know he had a dad!" Luffy had been the most adorable kid, and didn't lose any of his childishness as he grew into adulthood. Somehow Sabo could understand this, even if he didn't exactly share the same deadbeat parents that they had. Granted, Ace knew about his father, and the pair of inbred aristocrats whom he called _parents_ really didn't deserve the right to say that, but hey! At least they chose their own dads. Luffy had Shanks, Ace had Whitebeard, Sabo had...Dragon, he supposed.

"Dragon probably won't be able to dad as well as Dadan." Sabo finds himself giving his own two cents on the matter. "I hardly ever saw him anyway. It was mostly the other revolutionary army."

All three of them stared at each other. As one, both Ace and Sabo plonked their heads on the table.

"Our dads..."

"...all suck..."

"Zzzz!" Sabo turns to look at the empty plate lying on the table. Luffy had stretched his arms out, before starting to snore in a corner. Ace continued to look at both Luffy and the remnants of Luffy's fourth serving of meat in disbelief, mouthing _how...?_

"HE'S ASLEEP!"

"Hahaha..." He said as the Whitebeard Pirates started to collect and quarrel about their bets. "Never change...Luffy!" Then, he felt a slight tingle in his scar, a premonition of what could come up next.

"Ship sailing on starboard side! Bearing the flag of three heads and cross bones!" He heard the watchman cry. "It's...Teach!"

Sabo _knew_ it. Things were going to get worse.

* * *

Teach had been a bit agitated. Nothing had worked out as it was supposed to. It all started out when he had tried to get the Devil Fruit. Oh yes, he had eaten the Yami Yami no Mi, as disgusting as it was, and gained the power over darkness. But Thatch had survived, and he had been discovered prematurely. So he had escaped, enjoying the powers of the long sought after fruit he had yearned for.

Then he decided that the next thing he had to do was to get a crew. If he were to become a Pirate King, he had to get his own crew, his own fleet even. Straw Hat had been a good choice, and he can't believe that Straw Hat was so close but he hadn't known how high Straw Hat's bounty was. It was greatly disappointing, and he had wanted to test out his powers.

Then Ace had appeared. Oh, he had feigned witness, begged for mercy...and then proceeded to beat Ace up, defeating the fire logia user. Personally, Teach knew that he wouldn't have been able to do so if he hadn't got Ace riled up about his little brother, but hey, at least Ace was in his hands. So he struck gold and took Crocodile's spot as a Warlord, and was he ever _grateful_ of the chance to get some more powerful crew mates.

He had been heading away from Impel Down when the news arrived. Of Fire Fist disappearing in transit. A bit confused, he had asked to listen to the broadcasts, and was subsequently rewarded with a variety of information he knew wasn't in his favour. Whitebeard allies disappearing? How strange, to not cover for the old man's back like that. And Whitebeard retreating himself? Throughout the years that Teach had spent with him, Whitebeard hadn't even retreated _once._ What was the sudden cause for the change in the man's behaviour?

Teach told his crew to make double time towards Marineford, eager to get his hands on the old man's power at his weakest. He wiretapped into Marine communications, and was quite confused by the news he had received. When he heard that Straw Hat was found and sent to be executed, he shrugged, because he no longer had a need for the Warlord status and Straw Hat wasn't particularly important to him at that moment. Then, Ace had destroyed the platform, and Teach wondered how dumb could the Whitebeard Pirates be. If Ace had escaped, he would have gotten his ship out of there first, saving the lives of the majority of his crew rather than nobly trying to get his brother in front of all the Marines and opposition against him.

Finally, they had arrived at Marineford. Teach ordered his men to distract the Whitebeard Pirates, and went in for the kill, because Whitebeard's power was so useful. I mean, earthquakes and tremors? That could be just what he needed to conquer the Grand Line. By threatening the Marines with it, he would be able to make his way through Whitebeard's territories with little opposition, and thus become an emperor.

That was when things grew even more unpredictable. He plays with Ace, riling him up. He has always noticed that when Ace grew hot-blooded, his movements became slower, and cackled as Ace sent his most powerful attack at him. _Good._ The more Ace uses these attacks, the more tired he became. Then that very useful fire logia could be added to his own collection of Devil Fruits.

Something smacked on his head, and he fled, cursing. What was that? Oh, it was the newbie who had refused to be Whitebeard's son. He had already broken Ace's records of several weeks (though he hadn't tried to kill Whitebeard), with his longstanding opposition to join another family. Teach couldn't understand the boy. Why help a crew that you aren't a member of? This newbie was truly a mystery.

"Don't. Touch. Ace." The wanderer barks out, and Teach recognises the determined glint in his eye. There was something behind that, something stronger. Something _protective._ The wanderer lunges at him, and Teach is forced to go on the defensive as he recalls that the newbie specializes in _Haki_ attacks. Damn, one thing he couldn't really defend against. Blackbeard gets a blow on his face, and curses as he decides to distract the man by using _Black Hole_ on some surrounding rubble.

Then a lucky blow sends him flying into something else that was flying.

"Eh? It's you?" It's the shitty admiral. Shit, shit. Kizaru upturns his nose before using _Haki_ to to kick himself away. Bastard. Teach could feel a bruise forming from the enhanced _Soru_ that the admiral just gave him.

"POPS!" Ah, Akainu gets one fortunate blow through Whitebeard. It looks serious enough because Teach could see a hole going through him. That would definitely make his goal of obtaining One Piece easier.

He proceeds to add more chaos into the battle, attacking some of the scum he once called crewmates. He had always been mocked, from his bad teeth to his laugh to even his girth. No more insults from them! Straw Hat was trying to defend the ship, eh? Well, let's see about that...Then a whirlwind forms right in front of the ship, throwing whatever he was aiming right back at him.

The battle only gets worse. First, Shanks arrives at the scene, stopping the war. While Teach is trying to get his crew to retreat, a ship crashes right into the middle of the field, and his crew separate as the cannons on the wall surrounding them continue to bombard his crew directly. What bad luck.

Then because the Marines were away, and the Red-haired Pirates are above their weight class having not fought a battle, the Marines focus on _them._ He furiously hisses as the thought of having his loyal men, his _tools_ to get to Raftel are chased down and captured, and only he and his original crew were able to escape uninjured. He couldn't care less about the men he had used his Shichibukai position to obtain; if they lived, then it was their destiny to rejoin his crew. If not then, well, he could find other scoundrels of the sea.

Then, Doc Q comes up with a brilliant suggestion. The main boat of the Whitebeard Pirates were the only set more weakened by Marineford then they were. Furthermore, the newbie who is probably the only person in the ship that Teach couldn't estimate the power level of, and he's been carried off by flying ship. So, onto Whitebeard.

Then something nudges his ship off course, just when Whitebeard is within firing reach.

 _"TEACH, WHAT DO YOU THINK YOU ARE DOING?"_ Oh dear, it's the newbie. Looks like he's back here for more.

If he were to die today, so be it. If he were to live on, than it would further confirm his belief that he was meant to get One Piece.

* * *

Goku knows he is about to die today. If he were to live on, then so be it.

"Elephant Gun!" He increases the size of the waves that answer to his command, sending the Blackbeard Pirates tumbling over themselves in order to right the ship. But Teach is moving forward, dissolved into his own dark flames and heading straight for the infirmary.

The Whitebeard Pirates had been settling, had been exhausted. They're in no shape to fight, and Goku knows this as much as he knows the fact that he will expire soon. So instead of trying to attack the Blackbeard Pirates, he uses his power to unleash a tidal wave that sweeps the _Moby Dick_ away from the Blackbeard ship further, before entrapping both he and the Blackbeard Pirates in a watery prison.

This has to be finished. Teach mustn't be allowed to fulfill his dreams, because his existence itself guaranteed the events that led to the end of the world as he knew it.

He roars a battle cry as he charges, much like his foolhardy younger self. With one kick, he splits the Blackbeard ship apart, causing the remaining crew to fall into the sea. Teach cries a word of alarm as he dashes to rescue his crew.

_Thirty minutes remain, bearer of the 'D'._

He nods in silent reply. Yes, he knows he doesn't have much time left. So he works at making sure that the Blackbeard Pirates are finished at a force. One whop, Doc Q falls down, explosive apples no longer able to be used. Two whops, Lafitte falls, spine rendered broken. Three whops, Van Augur can no longer see his scope. He doesn't check to see if they were killing blows. So long as their dreams were disrupted, unable to be fulfilled, then he considers it his win. Jesus Burgess tries to flee, but the watery prison holds firm, and he is buried under the waves.

Shiliew strikes him. He is after all, an excellent swordsman. Goku should have noticed him coming, but he is distracted with making sure that the other Blackbeard crew members can no longer stand. Teach seizes the opportunity to wrap his flames around him.

...The Whitebeard Pirates are coming back, yelling at him, mobilising their existing forces.

"What are you thinking!" He could hear Marco shouting at him. "Are you insane?" _No, I'm not, Marco. I'm just so very tired._

"Goku, hang on, we're going to rescue you." Haruta, who's always been a bit jealous of him could be heard shouting out as the Whitebeard commanders tries to raise their crew's morale for one last battle. _Haruta, thank you for your vote of confidence. But I can't be saved. Not this time._

But Goku wasn't known as the Pirate King without having had his plan thought through with his allies. Protecting an eager crew from hindering his battle is a strategy he had the misfortune of practicing numerous times to his regret. He has already been rescued too many times at the cost of his crew's, no his _nakama's_ lives. He wouldn't allow it to occur any further. He paused, before sending a trail of his power towards the _Moby Dick,_ one destination in particular.

The _Moby Dick_ lurches, before the waves throw them in the opposite direction. Unlike his time, the majority of the ships were driven by the wind, and even if they were in the Grand Line, he still could call the shots in terms of the direction of the waves. It is a power that he had never asked for, but was given at too high a cost.

_Fifteen minutes left, bearer of the 'D'._

His own crew is heading towards him. He uses the remaining energy he has left, to throw up another wave. This one won't stop them from reaching, because Nami has greater control over the weather than he could ever hope to even with the unnatural powers he possesses, but it would be able to stop them from reaching from the battlegrounds.

He sucks in a deep breath. Time for his last speech.

"You don't get it do you?" The Pirate King threw his head back and _laughed,_ an empty hollow sound that felt like his insides were being ripped and torn at the molecular level.

"Even if you were to encircle the Grand Line twenty times, you still wouldn't be able to conquer it!" He says, thrusting out his chest. "Because I will never allow you to do it!"

_What am I saying? As if Teach could ever find One Piece on his own.  
_

"You think I could come up with this on my own? It's been fifty years." He exhaled heavily, raising both of his hands. "I've had _plenty_ of time to readjust the world order. It's not just your own skills that will save you this time, Teach! In two years time, Raftel would be open for the taking, and my allies are the ones who will open it! You'll never be able to reach One Piece! _That_ was what I made the trade for. Hahahaha!"

The sky exploded, clouds dissipating as water poured into the sky, showering those watching as it formed the words 'Have fun searching for my treasure~!' It encapsulated him in his entirety, all that he ever thought to pass on to the next generation of pirates. _And so it continues. Everyone, this is my signal. Hide yourself, show yourself only to the one you want as your king. And we shall meet once more._

"Boy, you have angered me for the last time!" Teach roared as more of his darkness continued to engulf the Pirate King turned wanderer. The wanderer choked on his laughter, and ignored the incoming doom, turning to face the Whitebeard Pirates.

"Sorry for getting you involved in this, my friends." He then faced his own crew. Nami was weeping, while the rest of his crew solemnly watched the scene, knowing that his stubborness would never allow them to help or appear to others for aid, even replacing himself with a dummy when they had not noticed. He knew that it was Robin who had read his mind, sending this speech throughout the world in recognition of his final wish. "Sorry, you will have to go along with my selfish requests...This is the last one."

"Idiot!" Nami cried, "Of course we will help! That's what nakama are for!" _Thanks Nami. Thank you everyone for letting me be the Pirate King._ As much he was able to, the wanderer bowed his head in appreciation, once towards the crew he had sailed with for several months, once towards his loyal crew. And once more towards the ocean which he loved since he was a boy and even as he continued to sense his life force draining away.

"This is really it for me..." He hissed, feeling much of his body dissolving, but he really couldn't care less. "I wonder, if this could be called a fixed point in that mystery cloth."

_Flash. Setting off from Dawn Island, to the cheering of villagers. His first meeting with Coby. His first crew member at Shells Town, who was locked up without his swords. Cocoyashi Village, Nami crying as she wore his hat, while he went off to fight for her freedom. Baratie, Sanji sobbing madly as he kowtowed towards his mentor in gratitude of the permission to reach his dreams of the All Blue.  
_

_Flash. Usopp jumping off the docks at Water 7 after their fight about Merry. Robin yelling at them, telling them to take her to the sea with them at Enies Lobby. Franky doing his familiar pose while naked, while waves crashed against the rubble much to the disgust at those present._

_Flash. Thriller Bark: Brook playing his piano while everyone sang and dance to the tune of Bink's Sake. Oh how he wished to hear that tune again! Sabody, where he met Rayleigh and invaded the Human Auction House and fought with the Marines before Kuma separated the crew in order to rescue them. Kuja Island, where Hancock and her sisters lived._

_Flash. Impel Down, where he fought back to back with Bentham. Marineford, where he told Whitebeard-ossan that he was going to rescue Ace no matter what. Ace using his body to shield himself from the fist of magma plunging through his gut.  
_

_Flash. Jinbe telling him not to let his vision be restricted by his past, to move on after Ace's death. Flash. Shirahoshi pleading for him to stop destroying Noah. Oh, if only he had known what Noah really was...But does it really matter?_

_Flash. Punk Hazard, and Torao and him becoming allies(Friends). Dressarosa, where Rebecca's only wish to live with her father drove her to become a gladiator and he met Sabo, his long lost brother and there was that Straw Hat Grand Fleet that he swears he was fooled into even to the end because who puts a feast so that he can't argue against it anyway..._

_I really had a fun journey, didn't I? And I met so many people, made so many friends, had so many nakama..._

_And even after I went into the past, I collected even more acquaintances. Roger and the crew of the Oro Jackson (Shanks was so small! Rayleigh being even more of an awesome old guy!) Thatch, who loved food and guarded his kitchen (not that Luffy had stolen from it...before. Sanji shouldn't put locks on the fridge.) Marco, who's kinda like a mother hen, overprotective but cool at the same time. And he got to meet Ace again._

"Thank you everyone for loving me—" Luffy echoed his brother's words with a slight twinge of irony. Huh. So it did get said in the end, even as the speaker changed to follow the new timeline. _Thank you for making this journey with me, guys. I'll see you on the other side. Onto the next adventure—_

The darkness _exploded,_ raining all the objects that Teach's darkness had swallowed, along with a spray of seawater.

* * *

"LUFFY!"

"GOKU **YOU IDIOT**!" Both those who had known him before and after cried as they watched his ragged cloak fall into the sea.

Ace's felt his heart fall into his stomach. _Luffy_...His own brother, turning into someone like that... _How much did you hurt in order to do that to yourself?_ His still alive baby brother watched silently, rubbing the ribbon of his straw hat. Meanwhile, Sabo had crept his arms around the both of them, trying to comfort the two even as he watched a guy he had known for both a childhood and only a short while pass on to the next world.

"Ace..." Luffy finally said, turning towards him. "I...don't want to become like that." Ace scrutinized the sombre expression on Luffy's face. His crybaby, always cheerful brother should never have to wear that expression on his face. Ace's every brotherly instinct screamed at him as he rubbed circles into his brother's back, wanting to dissuade his brother, to say that Ace would never allow it to happen to him.

But did he have the power to do so? First Impel Down and his brother rushing to help him escape, then Marineford and the Whitebeard's retreat, and now this, where the Whitebeard Pirates were forced away in order to be protected from a person who was originally part of their crew. They couldn't defend themselves, and Luffy, no _Goku (Because Ace never wants to see his brother with such weary eyes, even if he had to pound sense into him with his fists)_ had taken it upon himself to protect a crew he had only sailed with for a few months.

Ace clenched his fist. Fine. If he wasn't able to protect himself, then there was only one thing to do. Become stronger, become strong enough so that they won't break their promise and both, no _all three_ were able to live their lives with no regrets like _Goku_ had.

Judging by the looks on Sabo's face, it was clear that he had the same thoughts.

Ace came to a decision, one that he should done so upon returning to the _Moby Dick_.

"Luffy, let's exchange Sakazuki once more." Luffy's eyes widened, before nodding. Ace turned and dashed towards the deserted kitchen, returning with a bottle of East Blue sake and three red cups.

 _"Did you know, you guys?"_ Luffy said as he poured out into his cup, before passing it over to Sabo.

 _"If you exchange drinks..."_ Sabo said as he filled his own cup, before returning the bottle to Ace.

 _"Then you can become brothers!"_ Ace said as he filled the remaining cup.

_"As pirates-"_

"And Revolutionary Army members!" Sabo hastily added.

_"We will not be able to end up on the same crew-"_

_"But the bond of brotherhood we share-"_

_"will never die!"_

_"No matter where we are..."_ Ace leveled a glance towards Sabo, who grinned as he raised his cup in acknowledgement of the ten years he had spent away from them.

_"...Or what we do..."_

_"THIS IS ONE BOND WE CAN NEVER BREAK!"_ As one, they pushed their cups together, letting the alcohol spurt over their arms.

"From yesteryear to today to our deaths, we are BROTHERS!" Downing their cups in one gulp, they slammed the cups down.

"No excuses!"

"No regrets!"

"Freedom!"

* * *

Behind the trio, Marco felt a smirk crawl over his face. The Whitebeard Pirates had been shocked, and both he and Thatch had felt tears well up as they watched the wanderer die with a smile on his face. But the display of brotherhood right on the deck itself seemed to uplift the spirit of the Whitebeard Pirates, and he could hear various catcalls and cheers as various members decided to spontaneously vow eternal brotherhood as well!

Teach had slunk off. Marco didn't think that their chances of killing off Teach were good, seeing how Teach had defeated Ace, had defeated them, had escaped Marineford with nary a scratch...But that didn't matter anymore.

He felt Thatch wrap his arm around his shoulder, his warm weight a pleasant balm to the worries Marco had felt. Pops was still unconscious, but what the wanderer had done must have worked, because all of his sisters were telling him that yes, Pops was going to live past this and wake up after he healed somewhat. Then all of them would mourn the brothers they had lost at Marineford and during their battle with Teach, and they would welcome the new era with their father.

They were going to live as freely as they could. No regrets.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: This is the end of Curse as we know it. Even as our much loved Captain passes on, as a certain wise man once said: "Death is but the next great adventure".  
> Why Goku chose to move on this way is another reason, one that would be hinted at, but would not be revealed until the Final Arc.  
> We're going to move on to the final chapter of this arc, before we head into time skip. Do you think I will actually skip the two years? There's so much potential, especially with the Self-Defense Force that is run by someone extremely familiar continues its ascendance...No spoilers.
> 
> I've hidden an important message within the chapter of this story, concerning what I have planned for the Final Arc. If you can guess it, comment!


	15. Childhood

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The ASL brothers make their way through Marineford. Things continue as before.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Thank you for your support, these past few chapters! I was worried about the response that Goku's death would give, because I tried to rewrite that part, but it didn't work out, and I couldn't quite put in as much emotional background that I was planning for.
> 
> And yes! Four out of five of you got it! Twenty Guardians to Raftel. Twenty people followed Luffy into the past, but not at the same time. And twenty viewpoints to follow!
> 
> Also, a note about the update schedule: because of commitments, I may have to reduce the frequency of my updates (four last week, lucky you). But that means there's more time for research, and the chapters will grow longer than before...T_T At last count, it's over 6000! Woohoo! The next chapter would be uploaded on Sunday night, Jan 24. So look out then!
> 
> Edit 23/2: There's one small part that calls on 'This Bites' by Xomaniac. See if you can find it!
> 
> Now, we come to a short interlude: my spin on 3D2Y, starring the ASL brothers!

_"Catch those dine-and-dashers!"_ Luffy hurriedly woofs down his _Kyushu_ ramen as Ace deftly snatches Sabo's second bowl to help him finish. Once the owner turns to collect their bill, suddenly made aware by her competitor's employees' yells, the trio are long gone, with only a note left behind.

The note in question? Written in a childish scrawl: 'Put it on my treasure tab! The future Pirate King.'

The cashier looked towards the fifteen bowls on the innermost lane, where the note was found. Then, the second, with two bowls left finished. The third, closest to the doorway, twelve. All seats were bereft of paying customers.

"Those brats!" She screams at one of her waitresses to look after the shop, before running off in pursuit of the trio which had eaten had her shop for free.

* * *

"Come on! We have to get the reporters here!" Sabo cries as he reaches the bell first. He deftly undoes the tight rope that secures the bell, causing it the clapper to be free of its restraints.

Ace paused, turning to the currently being demolished execution platform. In his mind, he remembers his brother on the platform, and how close he was to being on it too.

Luffy had came up with this, he recalled. He had wanted to get his news out to his friends. Therefore, as good elder brothers that they were, Sabo and Ace had agreed without knowing its exact details. Both had later regretted that they hadn't done so, because returning to the place of their near deaths is terrifying. So many people had died. So many people could have died as well.

There's so much to living, Ace has found. Because there are people who love him, Ace thinks that some part of his question had been solved. Because there are people willing to die for him, Ace wants to continue living on, not just purely surviving.

With one jerk, he swings the rope, and the clapper hits the bell, causing the sound to reverbrate throughout the square.

Another, and a crowd begins to gather around them. _Why is the bell being rung?_ He hears. _What are these hooligans trying to do?_

Six more times, he swings his arms and six more bellows vibrate through the air. Then he pauses, before handing it over to Luffy.

Luffy knows that he has to get this message out. Because he doesn't want to die so sadly like Ace's crewmate, thanking them for _loving_ him, while making them mourn for him. He would never let his friends become so painful like that.

The thing is, he could have done so. When he was up at the execution platform, gazing down at below, he had remembered his nakama, and apologised to them for dying like that.

Jinbe had spoken to him later, telling him what his _nakama_ might have viewed it.

_You scare us, Luffy. We thought you were about to die._

_I was._

_But have you become Pirate King yet?_

_No. But if I was going to die, I was going to say my last goodbyes to them first._

Jinbe had grown thoughtful, while Rayleigh had sat there, with a widening smile on his wrinkly face. There was something glittering in his eyes, but when Luffy had asked him later, Rayleigh scratched behind his ears, and said _You remind me of someone._

That was what Rayleigh had explained his offer of _Haki_ training _._ Luffy didn't know what it was, and Ace didn't exactly give clear instructions either.

_Conquerer's Haki— Aim all of your anger at one person. Observation Haki— _Something lights up in the distance, and that will be your target. Armament Haki-Never used it. Ask someone else!_  
_

After peering over his shoulder, Ace's crewmate with the big hair like Franky had turned and thwacked Ace heavily on the shoulder, saying 'How the hell is he supposed to interpret that?' Meanwhile, Rayleigh had taken a look at it, shaken his head, and proceeded to ask Ace if he wanted to train under him too.

Ace had firmly rejected the full training, but did promise to ask for six months leave from his duty as Second Division Commander when he had finished training Luffy. There had been a certain scary glint in Rayleigh's eyes after that, and Sabo claimed that he had caught sight of some of Rayleigh's lesson plans for Ace.

Apparently, it had involved asking Ace to use Conquerer's Haki on some Sea Kings while crossing the Calm Belt. Five times each way. And throwing sea water at him the whole time.

Luffy didn't know why Sabo had given him pitying looks after that.

Sabo said eight rings. Right then. Luffy raised his arms, and pulled at the rope sideways. Eight times, for each _nakama_ he said goodbye to.

Once he had finished ringing the bell, he had turned to face the crowd, jumping off the platform. Sabo went to his left, while Ace crouched down and leaped between the two of them.

" _So the number of brats I have to teach a lesson has once again increased to three, huh?_ " There was the resounding noise of the cracking of knuckles. As one, a cold shiver ran down their spines. There was only one voice who could have uttered that.

"Wasn't he on Sabaody?" Sabo whimpered as they walked faster.

"What do you think. OF COURSE HE'S NOT!" Ace started to jog.

"Gramps is here. Gramps is here." Luffy could practically hear Garp's presence coming right behind them.

"RUN!" All three broke into a sprint, as they ran towards their getaway ride. Meanwhile, Vice Admiral Garp whooped as he sent his fist flying. It hit Luffy squarely on the top of his head, causing him to cry out in pain. Meanwhile, a flash reminded them of the reporters who had gathered because of the bell.

"I hope this works, Luffy!" Ace screams as they dashed across a road in the middle of repair works. "Because I will _kill_ you for letting us be on the same island as the old geezer, let alone within punching distance. "

"Oh that's how it is, is it?" Ace refused to turn his head, as a hot and heavy breath went past his neck. "Let's have ANOTHER FIST OF LOVE!"

"NO!"

* * *

"Do you think we lost him?" Sabo says, huffing as they finally reach the boat where Rayleigh has already arrived from the news office.

"Yeah, I think so." Ace wheezed as he settled down into the small raft.

"We need to get out of here fast fast fast." Luffy repeats the word continuously as he gazes around, searching the scene.

"Who thought this up?" the Dark King snarled as all three of them started rowing while Rayleigh unfurled the sails. Apparently, he felt the same about their current pursuer, and was just as eager to get moving as the trio. Well, they couldn't blame him, their fear of the man was well-founded, but his was extended over more than thirty years.

 _Weren't you the one who planned this?_ Sabo thought, remembering Rayleigh's words.

_If they read the article, then they'll understand...The fact that it's quite unlike you is in itself the key. You did have one companion who didn't seem particularly quick on the uptake...But I'm sure he'll figure it out._

* * *

Sabo and Fire Fist Ace: aged 20. Straw Hat Luffy: biological age 17, mental age 5. Rayleigh: age unknown. (R: Like hell I would tell it to you, pipsqueaks!)

Monkey D. Garp, Vice Admiral: age 67. Mental age: **7**.

"COME BACK BOYS!" Garp has walked through approximately three walls of defence posts, and sent two cannonballs through the yachts that the boys had initially came in. As far as Marineford HQ went, this is his second round of destruction after Marineford, and his twenty-third round since he had been promoted to Vice Admiral.

The reason? His three idiot grandsons had paid him a visit. One that Garp was _quite eager_ to repay in kind.

"GRAMPS ALERT!" Luffy's voice alerted them to the moving threat. Ace had already gotten hold of the logia powered engine, and soon they are speeding their way out of Marineford. Meanwhile, Garp, who had been banned from boarding Marine ships in pursuit of criminals after the seventeenth time taking Sengoku's ride in order to fight Roger, looks on the fleeing boat with awkward pride in his chest.

"I will catch you!"

"Like hell!" Ace shoots back from a distance. "See you, Gramps!" The three boys merrily sail off to safety, leaving behind approximately nineteen reporters interrogating the hundreds of eyewitnesses that had viewed the vandalism of Marine HQ.

* * *

"I see." Sengoku crosses his arms. "So you mean to tell me that your three grandsons had invaded Marineford by pretending to be builders." One finger was raised up. "Then they had dine-and-dashed at three different restaurants, with their bill amounting to a week's worth of meals for a sloop." Another finger went up. "And they had rung the Ox-Bell sixteen times in a row, which is in the _Central Plaza_ in the _centre of Marineford._ And. you. couldn't. CATCH THEM?!" He slammed both hands against the table, causing Coby to wince.

The invasion of Marineford hadn't been expected, and their reckless actions had outraged the higher-ups, seeing it as a challenge to them. While Coby could understand where they are coming from, he personally thought that the Fleet Admiral was being too highly strung about it.

 _Upon reflection,_ Coby watched Sengoku carefully. It seemed that the Fleet Admiral was more...relaxed than before. He would have usually continued in a long spiel about justice and such for two hours. But that was a reprimand, not a scolding. _What had happened on Sabaody_ a few days ago with Vice Admiral Garp?

"Bwahahaha! They had Rayleigh backing them up! I need more support if I were to actually get them!" Garp replied, shrugging his shoulders. Coby could see the veins on Sengoku's forehead twitch in response.

"THAT'S BECAUSE YOU WRECK EVERY SHIP THAT YOU'RE ON WITHOUT ANY QUESTION! FURTHERMORE, YOU'RE THE ONE WHO CAUSED THE MOST DAMAGE IN THIS CASE!" Coby winced again, remembering the various Garp-shaped holes that had remained on the wooden walls. Garp had been... _unusually persistent_ in carrying out his duties. And had broken oh so many walls.

Why had he been apprenticed to him again? Oh yes. Luffy. Like grandson, like grandfather apparently.

He inspected the bounty photo, now updated after the 'War of the Best'. In it, he had a 'D' written on his right forearm, while pointing two fingers and a thumbs up. On his left hand, he had shot up a 'V' sign while 'Y' was written instead. DY? What did that mean?

* * *

"I understand, Captain." Zoro smirked as Perona removed the newspaper with a huff.

"DY?"

"3D2Y." Zoro corrected her as he took out Rayleigh's vivre card. " we were supposed to meet up in three days at a certain location...well you know how that turned out." He whisked the paper back into his shirt. "He's using three fingers to imply three, while two fingers and the Y implies that we would meet up in two years time."

"But how did you know that it was meant for you?" Zoro sighed, before taking out the bounty poster.

"Look here..."

* * *

"We didn't need to go in the _FIRST PLACE?"_ Both Sabo and Ace screamed at Rayleigh as Luffy scratched his head.

"Of course we had to. **Sab** a **o** dy **A** r **c** hip **e** lago, **two years** later." Luffy scratched his head. "It's quite obvious, isn't it?"

"LIKE HELL IT'S NOT!" Ace screamed with shark teeth, while Sabo pounced onto Luffy, on the verge of wringing his neck.

"Exactly, which was why I had been down at the printing office." Rayleigh took out the newest bounty poster of Luffy. "3 Days, 2 Years. And in his teeth _—"_

"Wait. Sabaody." Ace said in a dead toned voice. "In other words, all we had to do was make enough of a ruckus, so that _you_ could have the easy job of sneaking into the News Coo building?"

"Well, in a sense, we didn't." Sabo said, scratching his chin. "Because of the Ox-Bell."

"What's with the big bell?" Luffy asks.

"They ring it sixteen times a year. Eight times to end the old year, eight times to bring in the new." Rayleigh hummed in slight delight.

"Eight times for the new, huh?" He says, staring at what could be his captain's successor. Then he turned towards Ace. "And eight times for the old _—"_

 _"Shut your trap right now geezer!"_ Both Rayleigh and Ace stared venomously into each other, each unwilling to give way.

"Hot-headed, stubborn _fool_."

"Shitty old manipulative bastard."

" _Daddy-issues_ brat." Ace appeared to turn red with rage, his fingers bursting into fire.

"Luffy, let's move away from here." Sabo hurriedly edged Luffy away from the ensuing struggle for dominance. Already, he could feel waves of Conquerer's Haki from the two, which usually preceded an incoming fight between the Pirate King's son and his first mate.

"But I don't get it." Luffy said, scratching his head. "What's so special about the big bell?"

"Well..."

* * *

"...This is the meaning of the sixteen chimes...However, it is quite evidently out of season. In other words...the sounding of the sixteen chimes can be interpreted as a tribute to the ending of one age, and the beginning of a new."

"...So he's trying to say 'I'll create the new age myself' or something, is he..." Garp said, scratching his head. "Didn't know that my stupid grandson could think of that. It's probably the Dark King's idea."

The whole bar was in full party mode, with streamers decked out over the counter, while the picture taken from the _Grand Line Times_ had been proudly framed and nailed onto the wall along with all of Luffy and Ace's other bounty photographs.

In it, Sabo was running at the left, with Ace in the centre. Luffy was the only one wearing a happy grin, flashing a 'V' with his left hand. In the background, was Garp chasing madly and throwing cannon balls after them. Unlike their youngest brother, both Sabo and Ace wore looks of full-fledged shock and terror as they tried to escape their adoptive grandfather.

 **YOUNGSTERS INVADE MARINEFORD UNDER REPAIR,** the headlines screamed. **OX BELL RUNG SIXTEEN TIMES.** Already, multiple copies of the _Grand Line Times_ had been circulated throughout the village, as people talked about the people featured in the front page of the newspaper.

"Those brats!" Woop Slap slammed his palm onto his forehead. "What did they think they were doing, returning and creating chaos once more." Meanwhile, both Dadan and her group of bandits had been sobbing madly as they pored over the opened newspaper.

They had mourned Sabo's death. Now, there was a new entry in the journal tentatively titled the 'ASL Trilogy'. The bandits hadn't expected the book to be completed. But now, now that they know that Sabo and Ace and Luffy were alive and together, they had carefully pasted the article into their journal.

Makino tenderly smiled as she poured out another celebratory drink to Garp. Her boys were back together, and nothing could be more perfect.

* * *

"Guararara!" Pops heartily laughed as he stared at the front cover picture. "Ace looks like he's doing well!" All of his commanders had been alerted when he finally woke up two days after the battle. Marco was the one responsible for telling him the news of Goku passing on, and Pops had grown silent for a few minutes before asking for the _Grand Line Times_ , to 'keep up with the rest of the world while he was asleep'. It was then when Thatch and Haruta walked in, laughing at something, and had turned over the newspaper when asked. Now, nearly all of the division commanders were gathered around them as Pops found his son clearly having the 'time of his life'.

"Yeah." Marco says, scratching his head. "He didn't even tell us that he was going to attempt a stunt like this with Straw Hat." Ace had asked for leave, saying that he had to meet up with his family, have a conversation or something.

Well, Marco _definitely_ didn't expect for Ace to go back to Marineford. Or to ring the Ox-Bell. Did they know what they were trying to pull? Probably not.

"It looks like the only one who can strike fear into our Ace's heart is gone." Thatch pointed out one of the shorter columns on the _Grand Line Times._ "Look. Garp the Fist, Sengoku the Buddha set to retire in a year. "

"EH?" Haruta snatches the paper from him, scanning it. "Why would these two old fogies resign? It's not like they haven't weakened or anything!"

"It's for Marineford." Marco pondered. "Because Sengoku's operation didn't pan out as planned, he's resigning to apologise for his failure. However, the Marines are framing it as a 'retirement' in order to prevent morale from collapsing as they select a new leader."

"It's probably going to be from the Admirals, right?" Vista twirled his mustache in thought. _Borsalino? Kuzan? Sakazuki?_ All were insane in their own way, and all three were dangerous to deal with, as evident in their previous battle.

"Kizaru's too easy going, no way he'll ever accept." Curiel points out. "So it's between Aokiji and Akainu." On one hand, Aokiji had the most devastating powers, because he had been the one stopping their fleet from retreating. On the other hand, Akainu had been the greater threat to them.

Marco side-eyd Pops, who was focused in thought. His sisters had made the division commanders all swear not to rile up Pops too bad, so they've been extra careful with their words such that the wound wouldn't reopen. While the wound could have been devastating, having struck between his lungs and below his heart and missing his stomach by a few centimetres, it seemed that the dash of water that had flown through the prison made by Goku had reached the infirmary, and had did...something, Marco wasn't sure. It seemed to cover the open wound, causing it to heal faster than what the nurses had predicted.

Marco didn't know what to think about Goku. They had only known each other for several months, and for many of the division commanders on separate ships, their meeting about Marineford was the first time he had been seen. Haruta had grown tetchy in his presence, while Namur had levied a suspicious look at the intruder, but somehow Goku had managed to etch his presence into their lives, convincing them of his experience in the area (Marco didn't want to know why Goku had known Marineford this well.)

Then Goku had jumped in at Marineford, knocked out Pops and sent them all on their merry way away while he alone held the retreat. Those who had gone ahead earlier were alarmed at the sight of their Pops, but once they had been satisfied with the fact that their Pops had been given to the best of hands, all of them were asking about Goku, who had made a name for himself by going against Kizaru and Akainu.

The news special had came out only a day after the actual event. Apparently, Goku's own crew had popped by for a visit, wreaked havoc, and took their wanderer with them. Marco was still busy with dealing with their losses and contact with their allies as first mate, so it was Jozu and Thatch who kept track of whatever was going on in the ship while Ace slept off the exhaustion of a spell in Impel Down, a near execution, and rescuing his brother had caused.

They had stopped at King's Atoll, burying their dead and observing a day of mourning for them. For some reason, there appeared to be an empty spot where no one was willing to walk past. When Marco had went there in curiosity, he suddenly saw two graves, one much larger than the other and flying their flag. He peered to focus on the names written on the headstones—

And the vision vanished, as if it never existed in the first place.

Ace had woken up by then, and he and his two adopted brothers had stood at that spot, laying flowers on it. When asked, he had pointed to Luffy, saying that it was his idea. Luffy had no recollection of doing such a thing, but Sabo had supported Ace's statement.

On their way back from King's Atoll when they were about to head towards the New World, the whole incident with Teach occurred. All of the _Moby Dick_ ships were sent away, winds blowing them to the opposite direction despite the coaxing of the helmsmen, while the navigators found that the waves were moving strangely, akin to something controlling them.

Marco and Thatch had walked in shock and horror as from the sea surfaced two globules of water. Then, the water continued to gather upon itself, until finally, it had formed a person.

"Goku!" He shouted, but their wanderer had not even looked at them , proceeding to head towards Blackbeard's ship. When the navigators had finally managed to steer them towards Goku, it was as though the weather itself was acting against them, and they were ducking for cover as rain splashed down on them from a concentrated cloud. Some of them had even said that the weather was so sudden it didn't match Paradise's standards.

Goku had smiled when he was finally swallowed up by Teach's darkness, and Marco was made aware that the first time he had encountered Teach in battle, he had been able to avoid Teach's powers. Why had he not done so now? His mouth grew dry at the thought of Goku's last words.

_Thank you all for loving me._

The words unexpectedly resonated within him, telling him that something had been righted where it was once wrong, but Marco didn't see anything right about that. After all, even as they had protected their allies, seventy-three of their brothers who had been tasked with protecting their retreat had died at Marineford, while their allies had left unscathed.

Marco felt that the death toll could have been higher. Somehow, there was an uneasy feeling in his chest when he had seen the waves sweeping them away from harm. Unlike Pop's tsunamis, the waves had been gentle, non-malicious, and felt like someone had been in total control over them. Was Goku the reason behind that, even as he fought the hardest of their opponents at the same time?

Thatch had once told him that Goku's eyes were _old._ He himself had said that he had lost all of his crew members. Marco recalled the conversation that he had with Whitebeard about their wanderer's guilt complex. Hadn't they been enough to carry on? Why had the wanderer chose to protect them?

And he recalled the venom that Goku had spat in every of his encounters with Teach. _Don't touch Ace. What do you think you're doing._ They had been filled with _loathing and hatred_. Goku's last ditch effort didn't succeed in the end, and Marco's estimations of their chances had rung true when he heard from Kingdew and Rakuyo how they had been defeated, despite having been on a branch ship with enough firepower to down a Marine base. Apparently, numbers didn't matter when Teach had utilised his powers of darkness.

If they had to take on the new age, they would have to be stronger. Marco never thought Pops as being infallible, but Teach had made Marco worried. The Whitebeard Pirates haven't always been the most moral, but they were still fairly decent for a pirate crew as compared to say some of the Shichibukai.

Ace had told them that Rayleigh was going to train his brother and later him. When asked, Rayleigh had only shrugged, saying that Ace had all three kinds of Haki, but no knowledge how to use them because he was a natural, especially with Conquerer's Haki. Marco hadn't liked the look in his eye, and warned that Ace was _theirs._ Rayleigh wasn't going to snatch him away from them, even if he was Roger's son.

Rayleigh had levelled a stare at him. He then proceeded to say that if he had known that Roger had a son in the first place, he wouldn't have left Ace alone. Apparently, if they couldn't even rescue Ace from Impel Down, then it was Rayleigh's duty to look after him, because Roger was his captain, and Ace was his son, and he would sooner drown then let his captain down.

"Then you're just like the Marines. Ace is Ace! He isn't his father's son as well!" Marco shouted back, remembering the murmurs that had broke out when Ace had admitted to being Roger's son after Sengoku had revealed his parentage to the world. He acted as though it didn't concern him, but Luffy and Sabo had looked at each other, exchanging unspoken words, before lifting a protesting Ace onto their shoulders and jumped onto a friendly island when some of his brothers had talked about how Ace was the enemy's son. All fifteen remaining division commanders were working on deck, trying to assure their men and their allies that Ace never knew his father and wasn't his father's son when a proclamation had been made one day later.

In the announcements page, wrote: 'The Pirate King has now passed on. The war for One Piece has begun. Prepare yourselves for Raftel!' It was signed by both the 'Pirate King's Crew', the 'Self-Defence Force' as well as the 'Revolutionary Army'. A greater buzz had broke out in the underworld, as people tried to figure out the intent of the message. Obviously, it couldn't refer to Roger, because the Roger Pirates had long since split up and it would have been issued right after Roger's death, and not twenty-two years later. Furthermore, the Revolutionary Army didn't exist at the time of Roger's execution, at least at the scale it was now, while there was talk of a 'Self-Defence Force' that existed, very little was known about the vigilante group.

It grew to the extent that the shock of Ace's real parentage was but a mere speck as compared to the huge news that an island had appeared on the maps of the Grand Line, marked _Raftel_. But when spies had been sent forth, no island had been reported where the maps had indicated. It was as though the island had never existed, yet it was still there where no cartographer had written.

So when Ace, Sabo (Another of Ace's brothers. At least he wasn't a black hole) and Luffy had made their way back to the ship off the uninhabited island, it was with great puzzlement and befuddlement as they had read of the news announcement. Sabo had finished his conversation with his friends, before telling them that the Revolutionary Army was also confused about the message and wanted more details as well from the ground.

Only Ace had a different response. He paled, fingering the announcement, and shut himself in the room for an hour. He had left, before proceeding to say something that would always warm Marco's heart whenever he thought about it.

_I don't care if the whole world refuses to accept me..They can hate me all they like! I'll prove I'm better than them all! I won't run from anybody! I'll never lose! I don't care if they end up terrified of me! I'm going to make sure that the whole world knows my name!_

Really, Marco was this close to being moved. Thatch and Izo were long gone, sobbing tears of delight, while Jozu and Curiel had thumped Ace eagerly on the chest.

Then Luffy utterly destroyed the atmosphere by saying 'I'll become Pirate King!". Marco face palmed at that. Did he not notice whose ship he was currently _freeloading_ on?

If it wasn't clear who had eyes on the throne, that did it. Ace had catcalled, saying that he'll rather Whitebeard be his king instead, while Sabo had palmed his face. The Whitebeard Pirates in the meanwhile had teased Luffy, calling him 'Cheeky Brat' and that was the end of that discussion among their crew as various ways of getting their own back were sought and immediately foiled by the combined efforts of the trio.

* * *

They had almost come to blows when Luffy, Ace's brother had came in. With a serious tone, he said, "Ace is my brother. If he weren't there, then I wouldn't be here either." Then, he had gone off to pester the kitchens (And Thatch, who by this time did not feel a slight twinge of guilt when he had kicked out the black hole on legs within three seconds of finding him for the seventeenth time.)

Both of them stared at each other as several clanging sounds broke out, while Thatch's angry voice roared at the irrepressible rubber boy for 'thieving from the kitchen once again'.

Then they collapsed into laughter.

"You won't have to worry about me taking Ace away." Rayleigh was the first to speak. "Because I've already placed my bet on someone else instead.

"He sure is a stupid cheeky little youngster, isn't he?" Marco replied, rubbing his head.

 _Goku, was this the person you were waiting for until you chose to use your remaining power for us instead?_ Marco thought as he closed his eyes. If Luffy was the Pirate King, then well...

He won't be surprised if Fishman Island rose from the sea then.

* * *

"Is Princess Shirahoshi okay?" She heard the guards outside say.

She didn't know how... _restrictive_ her life was back then. Shirahoshi looked at the four corners of her bedroom, while Megalo continued to swim around and round her bedroom. It was an act of stress, but it was also an act of frustration. He too had been cooped up for too long.

When the Whitebeard Pirates had passed by, her Luffy-sama had gave her memories of the other time, and Shirahoshi couldn't help but compare this world. Fishman Island was so _peaceful._ There wasn't a threat of sanctions by the World Government, and they had benefited from the claiming of their island by Whitebeard himself. The Big Mom Pirates had been here after Jinbe's resignation and the announcement of Luffy's brother's execution, but after seeing that Whitebeard was still alive and therefore powerful enough, they retreated back.

Shirahoshi knew the moment _it_ had arrived, that her saviour had died. She had wept inconsolably in her room for three days, barely touching any food as she recalled each and every memory that she had of Luffy. From chancing upon her in her own bedroom, to squeezing her into Megalo that she could pay her respects to mother. To kicking Vander Decken's axe, to stopping her father from being executed. And he had even gone against Noah, the boat that was _undefeatable_ in order to save Fishmen Island. Luffy had even gone against Big Mom when they had failed to produce the sweets on time!

The straw hats had been brought from the surface by Jinbe, and quickly gained popularity, as 'hero' hats. Jinbe had apologised to her for not being able to get one large enough for her, but Shirahoshi hadn't minded, because it was good enough that Luffy and his crew had promised to return to her.

Shirahoshi made a decision. She could wait for two years, continuing to be protected by her father and brothers and waiting for this time's Luffy to arrive. She could wait to be rescued.

But she was one of the 'Twenty Guardians to Raftel' for a reason. She was Shirahoshi, Poseidon, the caller of Sea Kings, an aid to navigating Raftel's waters.

With a nod, she steeled herself, all of her nerves bunched together in one.

People shouldn't always rely on the captain! He had gotten so _tired,_ and Shirahoshi couldn't do anything but watch as he faded and faded and became so much less lively.

 _The only people who succeed are those that help themselves._ She thought, clenching her fist.

But first...

" _Waaah!"_ She burst out, causing the worried guards to burst into the room as Megalo swam back in shock.

 _Luffy, I won't be known to you as crybaby-hoshi any longer,_ she thought furiously as her guards tried to comfort her. _But please..._

_Let me be at your side the next time. I don't want to be useless to my chosen captain any longer.  
_

She would train her ability, she would be able to call upon Sea Kings larger than she, larger than Fishman Island altogether...And she would _enjoy the sunrise together with him._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: End Marineford Arc. Now, the obvious member of the twenty guardians is: SHIRAHOSHI!
> 
> Shirahoshi Q&A start!
> 
> JW: So, how do you feel about the past!
> 
> S: Erm, I don't know. Luffy-sama said that he needed us to help, so we did? Ano, I don't know...everything's just so...small now.
> 
> JW: What would you say to your past self, if you could encounter her once again?
> 
> S: Luffy-sama eats a lot! But that's okay, because he will do his very best to help us!
> 
> JW: Anything else?
> 
> S: Mama didn't die in vain.
> 
> JW: Thank you! If you were to head back in time, who would you meet?
> 
> S: My, my...UWAAAAH!
> 
> JW: Shirahoshi, are you okay?
> 
> S: I'm..(sniff)..I'm fine...(Hic!) I wish to meet my mother...Queen Otohime.
> 
> JW: Okay, the lovely Queen Otohime, right? That's good. And if you could say one thing to one person right now, what would you say?
> 
> S: Ano, I... (She clenches her fist) UWAAAAH! I DON'T KNOW!
> 
> Fukaboshi: That is it! You're out now! Stop bothering our sister!
> 
> JW: I'm not bothering her, I'm just...hey? Hey! (Is being prodded by tridents)
> 
> Fukaboshi: Out! OUT!
> 
> JW: (whispers) Shirahoshi, your brothers are too overprotective. Really.


	16. Fallout

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Someone thought dead returns. Ace thinks that his brother's the most oblivious git to ever exist. Zoro thinks that threatening a princess with a plush toy is wrong. Coby fails to hit on a princess.

"Why do you polish the glass?" Merry the bartender smirks at him in a feline manner.

"It was given to me by someone special. " She says, daintily tiptoeing and placing the glassware back into the cabinet.

It's sometime during the afternoon, but Merry has been in the bar since twelve. For a bartender, the most important things, besides their skills at pouring drinks, are the polishing of glasses. Not only do the fine wines get this treatment, even the plainest bottles get polished and polished until their edges are smooth and their smoothed surfaces shine in the light. It's a form of care, as the bartender gives the bottles her full effort as though they were her children.

He's met Merry often. Once when her business had just started and she was walking away from the alcohol wholesaler.

* * *

_Flashback_

_"There are always four things needed for a bar to survive. Something old, something new. Something borrowed, something blue." She says, tinkling with laughter. "For a bar to survive, the first thing one must do is to get the wholesaler's approval."_

_"Doesn't the wholesaler have competition?" He asks, because it's obvious to him that pirates could just as easily drop off their stolen cargo at the bar, rather than offering it at a wholesaler market which the pint-sized woman gets her best rum and gin from._

_"Not if the bartender wants a steady supply." Merry replies. "In business, it's best to have good relations with the wholesaler. Not many try to argue with him, because they would definitely lose out." She skips to her feet, and turns. "He's the only one willing to buy at an acceptable price."_

_The wholesaler proved to be an eccentric man. He told her to make a drink based on what she could tell of the wholesaler himself, even if it were the first time Merry had met him. With a smile, Merry had asked for whiskey, vermouth and bitters. She stirred five parts whiskey with one part vermouth, before adding a dash of the bitters. She stirred the drink with ice, and strained it into two cocktail glasses. Finally, she added a bright red, sweetened cherry, and presented it to both he and the wholesaler._

_It tasted slightly bitter, but sweet at the same time, he thought, while the wholesaler smacked his lips, closing his eyes in remembrance._

_"A Manhattan." He pronounced, licking his lips. The wholesaler then carefully picked up a bottle, with the words Whiskey inscribed onto the glass, and presented it to Merry._

_"Something old for your bar, then?" He says. "My best treasure. Made two hundred years ago. How about that?" The bottle seemed old and worn, but the way the old man treated made it seemed as though it was made of crystal rather than glass, and the old words seemed chiseled since the time it was made._

_He eyed Merry, who was now looking at the glass with a skeptical glance._

_"No." She shook her head. "I'm afraid I can't accept this."_

_"Why not?" The old man said, pushing the bottle right into her face. "It's old. Should be nice to put on display."_

_"Nope." She says handing over the bottle to him. "Because the drills of two hundred years ago weren't sharp enough to make such a thin cut." She points to the 'y' of the word. "It's a fake, isn't it?"_

_For a moment, he thought the old man was going to blow his top. His face steadily grew redder, while he slammed his 'treasured glass' down onto the table._

_Then, the old man started laughing._

_"You're a smart one, I'll give you that." He says, patting at his bulging beer belly. "Thought I could have fooled you with that?"_

_"Ah, no. It just so happened I had read a book on wine manufacture in the past just two days ago, so I was fresh on the details of that era." Merry comments, scratching her head._

_"That's what a bar owner needs though." He levels a glance at the two of them. "A clear perception. Most would-be bar owners come here, because it's a hotspot for gatherings, and many would assume that their profits would be higher if they were to situate themselves near the Red Line. Their mind's filled with dreams and expectations. However, they overestimate their earnings and buy up stuff in preparation of a roaring business, but bar owners too have to deal with the damage given out by the pirates and marines hanging around here. Shakky's Ripoff Bar is an oddity, but most of the time we barely have paying customers between the pirates and the actions of the Celestial Dragons. Something old is indeed a treasure, but it's not this bottle. It's a clear perception when dealing with customers and the store."_

_He tosses her a casket full of bottles._

_"Here, have that! It's a good collection to start with."_

_"Actually, I was hoping that you would introduce me to the person who creates these." She says, holding up the glass that the wholesaler was drinking from when they had met him. He peered at the cup, long since emptied with the ice melting under the strong heat of day._

_"The ice? Oh, you'll have to see this old guy then." The wholesaler says as he brings out a Den Den Mushi. "I'll make the introductions for you and give you his address..."_

_End Flashback_

* * *

He had learnt many things that day. This woman was inspiring, and not just in the lessons she taught.

He himself didn't know there was a purpose in life that could be derived from drink. At the start of his career, he had always been treated as if on edge, and even later on when he had found his friends, his life in the Revolutionary Army they had still treated him as an oddball. Only Dragon treated him as if he were a normal person, and he had willingly fought with the Revolutionary Army for it.

But now, he was caught adrift. He knew that he had been about to die, had been willing to do so, but he didn't understand _why_ he did not. Oh, he understood the details of the... _operation_ he had gone through, but the fact was...

He was still alive. His personality was intact, and everything was _not_ as it should be. Bartholemew Kuma was _here,_ and he did not understand why Vegapunk's operation had failed.

The good doctor had tried to understand why, even taking him apart (Kuma...didn't quite mind it. Really, he was only doing his job, rather than out of malicious intent, and Kuma could respect that) but the truth remained that Kuma had retained his mind even after the final operation was complete. It was boggling how the head of the Marines' Science had failed in what appeared to be a life-changing experiment.

Vegapunk was still investigating the experiment's outcome, and Kuma had came here to Sabaody, but he knew that he was still being watched by the Marines. There was no way that he could lead them to the Straw Hats ship, especially since his usefulness to the Marines was still questionable.

As a result, Kuma had gone to the remaining place that could ground him that did not put his peers from the Revolutionary Army at risk. He had gone to Sabaody Archipelago's _Merry's Bar._

Merry once told him that unlike a public house, a bartender's operations are mainly at night. So, her free hours were in the afternoon, and she served meals when requested. Kuma knew for a fact that Garp the Fist frequently dined here after the bar had closed for the night, and he had been careful to avoid the Marine officer by coming in during the day.

 _"Did you know?"_ Merry had once told him. _"There are two people who would not tell on you. The doctor or pharmacist, because your health is their business alone. And the bartender, who observes client confidentiality because he has no need for the secrets of others. After all, they have secrets themselves!"_

Merry was willing to listen to his secrets. The fact that her employee, a tall but slouching man who constantly slipped on the floor or knock over chairs when panicked could erect sound-proof barriers was quite convenient, as well as the fact that he didn't speak at all. Merry often lamented that his social skills were appalling, but he personally felt that the employee's silence helped to add to the bar's privacy.

Next to him was another customer, seated also at the bar but five places away. He had a bandana tied around his head to keep his fringe off, while his colourful Hawaiian T-shirt was an eyesore as compared to the dark brown wood of the bar itself. He tapped his leg impatiently as he waited for his drink, while copying something down onto his notebooks.

"Here you go!" Merry replied. "Cocktail glass chilled beforehand, coating the inside with bitters. 60 milliliters of West Blue gin very welled chilled, and garnished with lemon rinds. Stir lightly. Since we have a beautiful piece of ice, let's make this on the rocks. Enjoy your Pink Gin, sir." The other man smirked as he took a sip.

"Will you not consider my offer?" He says, eyes on the tiny woman. "You would be a tremendous help to my organization."

"I've abandoned the sea waves for good, sir. It's a pity, but no." The man raked his hands over his hair in a huff.

"You read the announcement in the papers, right? _He's_ passed on. With the throne now empty, everyone would be fighting for it." So they were referring to the strange notice then. Kuma had no way of getting to the Revolutionary Army, not now when he was compromised, but the back of his neck tingled at probable intrigue.

It was then that he was caught. The other man had looked at him sharply, and said, "Let's discuss this in a more private area."

"No." Merry petulantly put her hands on her hips. "He's a friend. He won't hurt us!"

"You are too naive," the other man scoffed. "He's a Pacifista. I'm quite surprised that you haven't tossed the machine away!" Kuma knows that this is the wide opinion of him, but he has no reason to fight back. He is after all more machine then human, and it shows in the way that he no longer even orders a dish made by Merry. Or the way that his eyes scan for the identities of the man, but comes up blank. The man doesn't have a bounty poster, and thus he is not a pirate.

"You're not quite wrong, but not quite right either." To his surprise, Merry arches a brow. "If you speak to him, you would find that he's retained his mind quite well after all."

"Quite right, Merry." He says, and he has the pleasure of seeing the man blanch in shock.

"Eh? How? Didn't Vegapunk..." He says, pointing to Kuma, then the drink that he is holding, then Kuma again. Finally, his eyes land solely on Merry, who's now beaming with pride.

"You did something, didn't you?" the other man glares at Merry. Kuma's overwhelmed with shock. Merry did something? When did that occur? How did a woman have access to Vegapunk's laboratory? How did she interfere with the experiment?

"How?" Kuma finally says, looking at Merry at well. Merry fidges under the glares that both give her, before she relents.

"First, what could you tell me about this?" She says, pointing at the Pink Gin the other man is holding.

"A Pink Gin. Made of one part West Blue Gin and chilled, this-"

"No, not that!" She says, and laughs. "Who invented it?"

The other man purses his lips together. "You planned this, didn't you. Is he your champion then?" Champion? He had never heard Merry use this word before.

"Champion?" Merry echoes, before shrugging. "You know, though I supply information to the Self-Defence Force, I'm not your ally, Jacob." The other man scowls in response to that.

"That was because it's a entirely different set of circumstances, Merry!" He says, waving at Kuma. "He's not supposed to be in the game to begin with! Why have him?"

"Because you're one organisation that's way too powerful for your own good." Merry crosses her arms. "I want a balanced game, and you're trying to collect us, aren't you?"

"I'm shifting the battle in my favour. It's a legitimate technique." The other man sulkily says. "Based on what you've told me, I think you haven't chosen your king yet! Why don't you come with me?" King?

"Don't get too much of yourself, Jacob." She fiddles with her glass. "Drink your gin, it's not good to leave a cocktail to warm like that. Cocktails are best finished within twenty minutes." The man levies one steady glance at her, before he downs it in three shots, He wipes the remaining liquid off his lips, before sitting closer to Kuma. He is now two seats away.

"Shall I start, or you?" Merry says, as she motions for her employee to close the doors and shut the curtains. They are shrouded in darkness, with a few oil lamps to fill the area with an eerie glow.

On that day, Kuma learns more secrets about Merry then he had ever expected.

* * *

It's very odd when what one views as your baby brother is chased after by someone. It's very weird when that other someone happens to be one you know.

Admittedly, Hancock had known Luffy. She had gone down to Impel Down to warn him about his brother, and she had assisted their escape from Marineford. But Hancock wasn't known as the 'Pirate Empress' for nothing. She was both domineering and cruel, imperial and arrogant, and their allies had often described her as someone not to cross, because of her Devil Fruit's powers as well as her general high-handed demeanor.

Upon comparing her description to the currently love-struck pseudo-teenager, Ace couldn't help but feel his jaw drop. And Luffy didn't know she had the hots for him!

"Hancock! Thank you for bringing us!" The fool obliviously cried out once the Kuja ship had arrived near the _Moby Dick._ Oh, sure, Rayleigh had told them that someone would pick them up (Sabo had already said his goodbyes a few days later to head towards the Revolutionary Base) but he hadn't expected that the one who had a crush on Luffy was _a Shichibukai._

Thatch was currently laughing his ass off, but Marco was busy pinching himself not to bother with being amused. Boa Hancock herself was too busy pouring her attentions and favours on Luffy to notice.

"It's good to see you survive, brother." _Brother?_ Ace dumbfoundedly mouthed the word, only for Thatch to go off again.

"Your brother and I are engaged to be married." She says dismissively, before turning back to her crush with love-filled eyes. Ace looked at her, then looked at Luffy, who's being awfully pleased with the food on offer and thus distracted from Hancock.

 _Things can only go incredibly well,_ he thought, _or incredibly badly._

"Bye Ace!" Luffy gives him a tight hug, which he returns. He loves his brother, really, and if Marineford were to happen again, he'll still rescue his baby brother even with the world against him.

Luffy's been bouncing on the _Moby Dick_ for a few weeks, and his ship-brothers have grown used to him. Ace is pretty sure that they'll help out if Luffy asks, because somehow he's squirmed his way into the tightly-knit group without much effort. He steals from all the kitchens, spars with Ace and Sabo when he's bored, and generally fills in the cracks that Marineford and Goku's death had created within the Whitebeard Pirates. It's unbelievable, what he does within a few weeks by smiling with those who could be cheered up by one and commiserating with them by remaining silent.

Oh yes, Ace knew who Goku really was. And if he did things right, there's no way his shitty brother's going to end up so melancholic he's almost a different person altogether.

Rayleigh has long since jumped onto the Kuja ship, and he's heard Marco breath a sigh of relief at that. Even if Rayleigh had retired for twenty-two years, they're still enemies since...Roger's. It's a bit awkward talking to a man who knew your father fondly, Ace's found out. Rayleigh had described him as one 'crazy-son of a bitch' with no survival instincts, but in the same token he calls Luffy 'idiot with only meat running through his brain' so Ace thinks it's sort of fond praise.

* * *

_"If you were to ask about Whitebeard, they'll probably call him a crazy fool for going to your rescue as well as for various other actions." Rayleigh says as they share a drink. Ace doesn't want to hear this, but Luffy's sleeping in the next room and it's their last day onboard, so Ace doesn't feel like leaving him._

_Ace doesn't want his baby brother to remain weak, but he's still attached to the boy who told him that he needed Ace to exist._

_"I know you hate Roger. Hell, a lot of people hate him too." Rayleigh says, tipping Rum down his throat. "But a lot of people hate me and hate Whitebeard as well, because we pirates in general pissed off a lot of people."_

_"I don't care about that. Pops' the best. He's been more of a father than..."_

_"Roger was too ill to have survived to your birth, even if Rouge had carried you for nine months." Huh? The expression on his face must have signalled Rayleigh, because he sighs tiredly._

_"Roger was never caught, did you know that?" It was news to him. Gramps had always told him of how he had caught Roger, starting with a five-day battle and ending with both of them heavily exhausted, one more than the other._

_"He had handed himself over to the Marines, but Garp had the credit for catching him. He once told me, 'I'll never die, partner'." Rayleigh sheds a tear in remembrance of his captain, "And he never did. He started the era with his execution, and set in motion a series of events that would engulf the whole world. Just like you, and your brother. All 'D's don't die until they intend to die, and that's a fact with the lot."_

_"So you mean Teach wouldn't die?" He hisses, because even as Thatch had survived, Goku didn't and he still has nightmares from the smile his probable-brother had given as he was wrapped in darkness. He would never forgive Teach, even if his brother was standing before him, alive and whole._

_"He won't die until he's satisfied, if that's what you're asking." Rayleigh replies, shrugging. "But you will know, of course." There's a tell-tale glint in his eye. "You were prepared to die at Marineford, weren't you?"_

_Ace can't breathe. He had known that the execution ground would be the last he'll see of this world, and he's known that since childhood, where being the son of the Pirate King was liable to get you captured. But the thought of his brother dying in his place scares him, and Goku's own dying words scares him even more, because that was the face of someone who's really wanting to die for a very long time._

_Ace doesn't think he's that old to have settled all his affairs in order yet. But if it were between him and his brother...he wouldn't mind. Not at that point.  
_

_Why was Goku alone until the end?_

* * *

Tensions were probably going to be lowered, Ace thought, once Rayleigh had gone. It'll be a bit sad to see Luffy go—

Someone's left a pole on the deck. Probably one of Jozu's group. Luffy's just about to bounce off, and his foot steps on the pole—

 _Goku's trod on a staff left unattended, but instead of tripping, he tips it into the air with his foot, and hefts it up onto his shoulder, ready to give another blow_ —

Luffy tips it into the air with his foot, and tosses it to the person who had left it lying around. The other person nearly drops it in shock.

"See ya, Ace!" Luffy cries, before he leaps onto the Kuja ship. They make headway towards the Isle of Women, and already Luffy is feasting on some meat on board.

Ace blinks, once, twice, before he sighs.

He'll have a hard time trying not to miss his still-alive baby brother.

* * *

"Is that what Luffy wants then?" Zoro knows that his captain is dead but alive. It's a confusing feeling for the swordsman, because of all the crew, he's the one with the longest history with their captain and often the one deployed when the captain's out of action. Zoro misses the captain, and now that he's passed on to the next world, the Pirate King's Crew needs to know what Luffy had done to the timestream.

He's still trying to look for their allies, but he only knows of one—Shirahoshi, who's both Poseidon, and the Mermaid Princess _and_ the daughter of the Ryugu Kingdom Royal Family. It's obvious, because he knows that Shirahoshi of before had no backbone to speak off, and constantly cries.

However, the mature female mermaid in front of him doesn't do that...much. Sure, she's still a crybaby (that won't change), but Zoro can tell that this was the mermaid who had been one of their best friends at the time of his death. And out of their powerful allies, she's the one who's the most likely to survive.

Zoro can't help but find his actions...a bit cruel.

"Waaaaah!" Zoro is holding up a plush toy of Luffy. It isn't entirely accurate, because Luffy doesn't wear a necklace of shells, nor does his Straw Hat look so well kept (his is tattered and mended in places, because Luffy isn't careful with keeping his hat intact and Nami's patch-ups aren't perfect), but what's more important is that Shirahoshi loves it dearly. As does Megalo, whose trying to swim his way out of the tower to alert the guards, except Zoro's long blocked off any escape path.

Thus, Zoro is slowly approaching the Luffy plush toy with a permanent marker and about to scribble vulgarity on its face, while Shirahoshi is too busy sobbing to call for her guards. It's a unique situation to be sure, but Zoro doesn't really have the heart to put her through this, so he relents and tosses the plush back to Shirahoshi, who hugs it gratefully.

Once Shirahoshi stops crying, she glares at Zoro with as much force as she could muster, but Zoro's received more hateful looks than the Mermaid Princess, so he ignores it with ease and asks, "Shirahoshi, I want an answer, please. He was my captain."

Shirahoshi looks ready to fight with him for the truth by calling on her shoulders. Her lip's wobbling, and she's rubbing her fingers in the manner that suggests nervousness with the situation.

"I can't. Luffy-sama says that we can't reveal who we choose to be king until he arrives, and we can't stick with one person, because his younger self would be very annoyed if his adventure was boring and..." She gasps, holding her hand to her mouth, before saying, "I did it again! Aaah!"

Zoro smirks. So that was Luffy's idea of a 'King Selection'? Find twenty captains to stick to until they hit Raftel? _Interesting._

Shirahoshi's blushing with guilt, her head buried in her hands. Zoro smirks. He knows that the twenty Luffy's chosen are ultimately reliable, even if they weren't as foolish as Shirahoshi. And he would get plenty of challenges now that the fight for the throne has started already...

Zoro's made from currents, from wind, from _movement._ From the time the Straw Hat Crew had started, up until his death, he had always been active, even when he was asleep. When he was reborn from particles of air and water, it still hasn't changed. His body thirsts for action still, and he would have plenty of fun fooling around with the crews who want the throne now that both possible occupants are dead.

He can't wait for Raftel. He's _so_ going to look out for the groups that make their way to Raftel, if only for the challenge that they'll bring. Right now, none of them have been found (though he thinks he knows where another has ended up...what _luck_ ) and he's not willing to wait.

Maybe he'll approach Mihawk for a spar.

* * *

Coby's watching the resident's expressions carefully. Rather than appreciation and gratefulness, they're watching the Marine ship with resentment.

Garp's stopping at Alabasta for alcohol, and given his subordinates free time to hit the bar. Instead, Coby's split off with Helmeppo (who wants to charm a lady, but Coby thinks that would only end in failure once five minutes has passed) and is heading towards the market place.

Alabasta had been terrorised by former Shichibukai Crocodile, but the Marines had defeated him, and Captain Smoker had been given a promotion, was what had ran in the official newspapers. But what he was picking off the ground was different.

"...Marines again, what a bother."

"Didn't even help, it was all due to..."

"...Crocodile's supposed to be their men, and they had let him carry on with what he's done."

"He was planning to destroy Alabasta all for a stone! And in the end, that Straw Hat had kicked his arse..."

"This country had _rain_ for the first time in _years, and it's all due to that Straw Hat_. Marines didn't do shit and yet they're the ones who..."

 _Straw Hat?_ "Luffy?" He pronounced the name out loud.

"You know him?" A blue-haired young woman squints at him. "You know Straw Hat Luffy?"

"Yeah!" The woman was quite pretty, and Coby doesn't know how he's struck gold, but well if things are going his way then why complain? "He rescued me from some pirates and brought me to the Marine Base so that I could be a Marine!"

"Luffy did?" The woman tips her head and chuckles. "It's like him. Taking a boy to be a Marine when he's a pirate. I heard that he was in Marineford?"

"Yes he was! He wanted to rescue his brother, and broke into Impel Down," There was a gasp from the woman at this but Coby continued, "Don't worry, he got out. Then he was captured again, and was sent to Marineford-"

"How could they!" She hisses with strong feeling, "He didn't do anything wrong!"

"But his brother who was supposed to rescue him turn up alive and free and Luffy was rescued as well!" He finishes. The woman heaves a sigh of relief, before grabbing her bags.

"Luffy's always surprising people." She shakes her head ruefully. "Do you want to join me for dinner?"

Before Coby could realise, she's taken his hand and dragged him off to her house. It turns out that 'dinner' was a royal banquet, and the woman was a _princess_. Coby's heart deflated in disappointment.

The Marines are set to leave the next day, and while Garp's at a grocery store probably restocking on doughnuts, Coby finds himself recounting his own adventures with the Alabastan royal family. They jeered and cheered at all the appropriate places, especially when Ace (whom the princess, Vivi apparently knows and thus smiles when Ace insults and rescues his brother in the same breath) and Sabo and Luffy reunite.

"Oh, what a wonderful tale." The chief of the guards, Igaram whips out a handkerchief as he dabs at his eyes. "Three brothers reuniting after ten years of separation! And coming back to the place of their near-deaths to do things together!"

The king himself guffaws once Coby shares how the brothers had fled at the sight of Luffy's grandfather ( _Garp is Luffy's grandfather? Oh, no wonder he had asked for so much in the food market.)_ and ran away before he could catch them. Garp had been left yelling at them as they made their quick getaway, and the other two men with the royal family cheered as Garp uselessly waved his fist at them.

"Thank you for this, Coby." Vivi addresses him. "Would you like to know more about how Luffy saved us as well?"

And they tell him the truth of Alabasta. Of how Straw Hat Luffy had been caught unaware by Igaram, but instead overcame the numerical differences to defeat an entire island of bounty hunters, and at Little Garden Island, where he had rescued Vivi and two giants from Baroque Works members. Of how he had climbed a mountain with two of his crew members on his back on wintery Drum Island, and came back with a doctor as well. Of how he had knocked down not once, but twice by Crocodile, but had found his weakness and saved Alabasta twice in a row.

In return, Coby shares what he remembers of Water 7. Of how he rescued the Devil Child (Who Vivi referred to as Miss All-Sunday, which means Luffy's nice enough to rescue his former enemies even when they had tried to kill him) and faced the World Government to do so. And what he had done to deserve the loyalty of not one, not two, but _three_ of his crewmates in return.

By the time they finish, night had already broken, and the Nefertari royal family insist that he stays with them for the night. As he stares at the ceiling of the grand guestroom, he can't help but think that under all circumstances, Luffy, despite his cries of being Pirate King, had acted as no pirate Coby had ever known should. Instead, he was a hero to three countries already, and Coby can't forget how Shells Town had cheered when Axe-hand Morgan was finally removed from his seat of power.

Yet because he was an _outlaw,_ because he was unwilling to bend to the wills of others, his actions were persecuted, and even covered up by the government when appealing to him with the position of Shichibukai hadn't worked. Yet, the Shichibukai weren't exactly the most moral at all. And a government who chose to cover-up, to persecute others just because of their blood links, were they still a good government? Yet Vivi was part of that same World Government that Luffy's dad was trying to overthrow, while Garp had believed in the Justice of the Marines until Ace's and Luffy's execution.

"It's no use thinking about this." Coby said to himself, and he tried to sleep. But in the morning, the seed remained.

He knew then what he had to do.

"Vice Admiral Garp!" He says, saluting his mentor. Garp was chewing on some biscuits while reading the news, utterly uncaring of the pile of paperwork on his desk, or of the evil stares that Bogard was giving him.

"Yes?" Garp tosses his paper down.

"I would like to request for extra-training." He knows that his Observation Haki's still a work in progress, but he knows he has to get stronger, if not for the World Government he is sworn to protect with, but for Luffy, because he knows that Luffy's growth rate is going to accelerate, and if he were to catch him, he would need to improve his own skills as well.

The half-chewed biscuits drop out of Garp's mouth as he stares at Coby. Coby fidgets, but he's firm.

"Oh, is that so? Bwahahaha!" Garp rumbles with laughter, but there is a tone of thrill in them.

"Very well! Starting from today! Prepare yourself! FIST OF LOVE!" He punches, and Coby tries to dodge, because he recognizes this move like no other. But he's not fast enough, and he gets hit with the full blow. His head spins, but a portion of his consciousness examines the move. Garp's fist isn't small, but the velocity it is moving ensures that the momentum it carries when it hits an object causes a large impact. So what he needs to do is improve his speed...if not his reaction time...

"Again." He steadies himself, and wills his observation Haki to work. This time, he sees the blow coming, and sidesteps. Coby pauses, because Garp withdraws his fist and is staring at him pensively.

"The best way," Garp starts, "to train Observation Haki, is to be constantly attacked." Then he grins, and it's not the cheerful ones he gives when Sengoku starts screaming at him for something. It's more vicious, like when a predator has found its prey and found it satisfactory.

Coby's going to regret this, but he doesn't care. He needs to become stronger, to become _Fleet Admiral_ —and thus able to change the system altogether.

 _Wait for me, Luffy!_ He thinks of the man who had rescued him from Alvida, who had rescued Vivi's nation, who had rescued Drum Island. _I'll be coming after you!_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: Timeskip Arc: Start! So we have two confirmed cases of guardians. As a side note, all twenty are canon! Meaning, Merry's someone who we all know, but we don't know her real name! Future Zoro pressures Shirahoshi and learns that there would be twenty captains arriving at Raftel.
> 
> If you want to know who the third person from the first part is, I'll encourage you to look up 'Pink Gin'. It's an interesting background.
> 
> Details of the drink derived here are from 'Bartender', a manga by Araki Joh. 
> 
> SBS: "Hey, do future people poop?" P.N. Monkey d. Luffy
> 
> Future Zoro: Yes. In the future, people do poop.
> 
> Future Nami: I can't believe you're saying that with a straight face.


	17. Development

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Luffy dreams. The 'God of Food' makes his second appearance, but he raises more questions than answers. Also, a certain employee of Merry's bar shares his thoughts with another.

Luffy's awfully tired, because Rayleigh's been throwing animal after animal at him in order to toughen him up for Conquerer's Haki. He can now knock down the leopards, but he's still working on making his stare frightful to the lions. So after his dinner, he rubs his tummy. Rayleigh's staring into the fire, as though he could read something in the flames, but Luffy knows that he's thinking of someone else. Ace, maybe?

He dreams.

* * *

_Captain-san? He frowns when he sees Robin appear. But this Robin isn't like his Robin. This Robin's reminiscent of the one who had faced them at Enies Lobby, who's really sad but doesn't like revealing her emotions. His Robin's a lot more happy and open now, but she still has moments like these._

_Robin is staring at a piece of fabric in thought. It's been worn in some places, and there's some threads fraying, straying from the cloth.  
_

_"What are you looking at?" He asks, because he's never held back on his words. Robin turns towards him, and he sees that her eyes are filled with tears._

_"It's the tapestry of time." Ah, he heard of this before. He had been staring at this mystery piece of cloth as well, before Marineford. But the one he saw as a child was newer, and less prone to stress. He doesn't know what had happened to the tapestry. But he knows it doesn't look good._

_"What happened?"_

_"Remember what I told you about the man who left his friends behind?" The one who left his nakama because the other alternative was dying? Luffy remembers this well, because he thinks he knows who that person was._

_When he had looked at the guy who had protected the old man's crew, he had felt something familiar. It was as though someone had made a copy of him, but imperfectly. He could tell that the other guy could have been him._

_"Was it that guy who died because Teach killed him?" Hey, he already didn't like the guy who liked that disgusting pie from Jaya. He had initially been ambivalent, because the other guy had told him to chase his dreams, but if the other guy also wanted One Piece..._

_Luffy has always been selfish. That hasn't changed one iota. And the other guy's death had only increased his hatred of the Teach, because Ace and pompadour guy and bluebird guy had been fond of him and had been the most depressed after he had left. Luffy doesn't want to see Ace upset, because it makes him sad too, and he doesn't like the feeling of being sad._

_"Yes. But he left behind this." She inspects the tapestry in front of her, finger scratching her chin in thought. "It looks like because of his interference, time is being held shakily. For instance, this." She fingers a point that has the image of a seashell on it, "And this, they're causing an adventure to go awry."_

_"Awry?" He questions, "What does that mean?"_

_"Out of place. Because of his actions, what happens in the island beneath the sea may never take place." Robin's staring at him again. "Is that wrong?"_

_Island beneath the sea, island beneath the sea..."You mean Fishman Island?"_

_"Exactly," She claps her hands. "Because Poseidon is there and awake, you would never have made a name for yourself. And even before that, have you heard of Trafalgar Law?"_

_"Who's that?"_

_"He was supposed to rescue you from Marineford." She mentions uneasily. "Yet because you left Marineford unscratched, there isn't a bond between the two of you. Yet you and he are supposed to help each other..." She turns and seems momentarily stunned as the loosened thread winds itself back to the tapestry of its own volition._

_"Eh?" Luffy stares at it with wonder. A moving thread? "Did you see that?"_

_"Yes I did." Robin calmly replies, but there is a tone of amusement. "It looks like he was thinking of what may happen after all."_

_"Thinking of what exactly?" Robin smiles enigmatically, and Luffy drops out of that place._

* * *

He wakes up, and doges the log thrown at him.

"Rise and shine, boy!" Rayleigh abandons the treetops he's taken too, and instead heaves a bucket of rocks. "Time for training!"

Luffy groans as Rayleigh shoves the rocks at high speed. If he didn't have Haki, he would have been knocked out by the rocks—only for Rayleigh to use the opportunity to try to wrestle him, and it's not long before it turns into a challenge of Conquerer's Haki, where the winner gets to take the remaining meat for breakfast and the loser has to hunt.

It takes five minutes before Luffy hits the ground.

Rayleigh flexes his fingers, and the black metallic coating recedes.

"You need to practice more of your Armament before you get into a wrestling contest with me." Rayleigh marches off, while Luffy, huffing from the effort of wrestling Rayleigh, groans and takes off for the deep forests, where he is sure he's found a couple of interesting deer.

The deer turn out to be foxes, and he's chased all over the island as the vulpines attempt a pounce on their would-be invader. Luffy would be perfectly fine with it, were the island not in the middle of winter season. And he's not had any warm clothes, because they had decayed in the autumn season one weak ago.

This island's weather was so strange. He wonders how the rest of them were doing? Nami would be too busy noting the frequent changes of weather. Zoro would be going after the 'alcohol tree' that Rayleigh was fond of. Sanji would be trying to cook that amazing looking deer if he had managed to kick it down. Brook would be playing Binks' Sake while the monkeys dance, while Usopp would be hiding in a tree top in fear from the numerous jackals in the southwest of the island. Franky would be on board the ship, trying to increase room by making use of the wonderfully hard tree that Luffy's found for creating a small hut.

He can't wait to see them again in one and a half year's time.

* * *

"I'm sorry, but you're not my type." Shirahoshi says in front of the mirror. She shakes her head. No, it sounded too regal, and that was not what Vander Decken had needed.

Now that she was making her debut out into the world, Shirahoshi knew she had to practice. Yet, because she hadn't made a name for herself, hadn't became Poseidon of the Pirate King, she wasn't reliable enough to act as a pillar of support for the Pirate King. That had to change, because Luffy needed strong helpers, and Shirahoshi was determined not to be left behind when Luffy-sama conquers the Grand Line.

"Shirahoshi," her brother sternly says. "Are you sure about this?" He seems impatient, and no wonder, because he's been stuck here the whole day while Shirahoshi is preparing to leave the confines of her towers in years (To Shirahoshi, this was laughable, because she had swum far beyond the borders of Fishman Island long before this, and she's not meant to be trapped here like that.

"Yes, Fukaboshi." She replies, straightening her hair tie. Fukaboshi sighs, before he rights himself and goes to open the doors to the waiting chambers of the Royal Family.

Her father is there, as is her two other brothers, and the Minister of the Left. All are anxious, because to them, Shirahoshi's been sheltered since her mother's death, and they're afraid that she would burst out in tears. She knows that her family's trying to be kind, but that hadn't benefited her because when Luffy-sama came, she hadn't been able to swim fast enough to lead Noah away from Fishman Island, and that had been a disaster were it not for Luffy.

She steps forward. Her father looks ready to burst into tears himself, but he steadies, and reaches a hand to hug the daughter he's never seen in years except in yearly meetings. Shirahoshi tears up, if not for the exact same reasons.

It's been so long since she had seen her father, and Fishman Island by extension as it used to be. She casts her gaze through the small windows that peer into the outside world.

She's scared, but at the same time she's willing to be brave. Because this was what Luffy had wanted to do for her, and she's planning on taking it with both hands if necessary.

"Father? I wish to step outside to see my mother." Not to imperious, but not too timid. The effect was that her father does start sobbing, much to her embarrassment, while her brothers start to cheer. So do her guards, because even if they would be accompanying her, it would be the first time they've been outside while on duty, and they'll enjoy not being in the suffocating atmosphere of the palace all the time.

It's not much, stepping outside. But at the same time, she breathes, and allows both merman and fishman alike to stare at her. She beams prettily, and most cheer to see the secluded royal princess.

It doesn't take long for Shirahoshi to spot Vander Decken. The fishman is peering at her, and when he realizes that it is the Mermaid Princess, he comes forward, with a box in hand.

The guards come to her aid, but she stands firm until Vander Decken is barely less than three people away from her.

"Would you not become my bride?" There are hisses in the background, but Vander Decken doesn't bother as he reaches out for her hand and—

"I'm not your type!" Oops, that came out wrong. "And you're not mine either!" Vander Decken's face darkens with rage, and no wonder, because Shirahoshi herself is barely restraining herself. "You send 'love notes' in the form of weapons at me! You write wedding invitations before even proposing to me! May I ask why you wish to marry me if your only intent is to hurt me?"

"But..." Vander Decken growls, "Aren't you supposed to be all sultry and loving—"

"Not to people who hit me." Then to add insult to injury, she adds, "I hate you!"

Vander Decken seems to bubble with anger. "Then no one shall have you!" He throws a gigantic axe, eyes on her right arm. He expects her to falter, for her to scream for help, and he would rescue her and become her hero. But Shirahoshi wants no hero to rescue her except Luffy-sama, which is why she simply lifts her hand—

And the axe misses her entirely, landing on the floor.

Vander Decken's eyes widened, but it is too late. The guards have long since surrounded him, and he is trapped in seastone handcuffs, ready to be imprisoned. There was no way he could inflict any of his curses on the army, because he is still staring in shock where his axe had missed Shirahoshi cleanly.

Shirahoshi stares at her arm, and silently thanks Luffy-sama for his help.

With Vander Decken safely locked away, she is free to participate in what happens outside. First, she shall visit her mother's grave, because she hasn't visited it in a very long time, and in this time, not visited at all. Then, she will try to live out her mother's legacy.

Who knows, maybe Fishman Island wouldn't need Luffy to intervene if their own internal problems were resolved after all. That would be one less burden on her captain.

* * *

Thatch is busy preparing a meal when Ace comes knocking in.

Ace's has been in a sulk since Luffy had left for training. It's no wonder, because Luffy's like a bouncing ball of sunshine, and he's tried various things which would have unleashed fiery hell were he none other than Ace's baby brother. From making his brother model a papier-mâché mask, to putting chopsticks in his nose to stealing meat directly from his brother's plate (okay, maybe not that one. Ace had came out of a spar in less than fifteen minutes while Luffy smelled like lightly toasted rubber. It's a disgusting smell which makes Thatch's nose wrinkle in memory). Now that Luffy was gone, Ace was busy training up when he isn't moping, which is saying something because Ace's training regime was tough already what with the 200 crunches and sit-ups he's making himself do.

Now, Ace is trying to learn how to fly. It does make for some interesting moments, especially when he tries to modify his arms to provide enough lift, all he does is to create a set of demonic looking wings that doesn't do shit and he goes plummeting down into the ocean a few minutes later. Namur complains every time he does so, but it doesn't stop him from yelping when Ace does his best imitation of a dive-bomb. Or from jumping into the ocean with a grumble.

"What are you cooking?" Ace stinks of sweat and saltwater. No wonder, because one time he gets too close to the deck, the shipwright and he got into a fight about where he does his training and the next he gets flung through the railings because of the burnt Adam wood. So he tends to do most of his flying stunts on the sea because he can't be sure that his gliding skills would get him away from easily damaged store rooms.

Ace is staring at the stove with a strange look on his face.

"Thatch? The fire that's closest to the stove is the warmest, right?" It's a strange question, but Thatch acquiesces.

"Yeah. The red part's the warmest at the top, followed by the orange, then yellow, then white."

"White?" Ace flicks his finger, and his hands come up orange with flames. "So there is a hotter temperature, I see..."

"Oi, Ace, what are you planning to do?" But Ace heads back out, and Thatch sighs as he watches the second division commander.

Thatch knows that he doesn't want to end up being stabbed or killed by Teach, but at the same time he's at a loss as to what to do. He's not willing to taken on a Devil Fruit, because he still sees the need to swim being useful. Furthermore, with Marco, Ace, Jozu and Pops all being Fruit users, he doesn't see how any ability he could acquire could help to protect his brothers as well.

He throws the thin egg noodles once, twice into the air with a net, before straining it further. He sprays soy sauce and oyster sauce onto the bowl, before arranging the noodles in a spiral shape. Then, he adds chashu and dumplings at the side with some spring onions and fried onion shallots for garnishing.

Thatch has always found cooking to be a pleasure. Not only did it steady his hands, it provided him some work to do. He's not like Ace, who just shoves everything into his mouth without minding the quality of food. As a gourmet, he's usually tries out new dishes from both the four Blues and the Grand Line when he wants to concentrate on something. This time round, it's from Kou island. He places the plate on the table, and prepares to eat.

The bowl of noodles move. Then, they swirl, and rearrange themselves to form a _very familiar face._

"Pompadour-head!" It's a sad day when because of all the shit that Thatch's been through these past few weeks, his tolerance level for weird things has risen alarmingly high. So he curses the head of noodles which has despoiled his meal once more, before crossing his arms and staring back at the 'God of Food' that had possessed his bowl of ramen and now his bowl of chashu noodles with dumplings.

"What do you want." Not going to faint. Thatch is _pissed_ that he has to throw out this batch as well.

"Our captain died. You saw the paper right?" Thatch sits down, because his legs feel like lead. Goku had saved him. He had rescued the whole crew without a word of thanks, and when Teach came along he was the one who had fought, casting them all aside because he didn't want the Whitebeard Crew to get hurt. It's a selfless thing, but Thatch wished that they could have helped out as well.

"Because of what our captain started, we're trying to look out for the individuals that our captain's picked out for Raftel."

"Individuals?" Marco comes in, and he's staring at the bowl of noodles turned anthropomorphism of the devil. "Tell us."

"Why should I?" The figure flicked an eyebrow at him. "After all, it's none of your business. I'm just passing on the message to Pompadour-head because our captain decided to rescue him with no rhyme or reason and we think that he's a potential candidate for the twenty guardians. But it looks like he's not, so I'm just going to go away—"

"Not so fast." Thatch's managed to get hold of a kitchen knife, and he's holding it to the piece of chashu that forms part of the figure's face. "Goku was part of our crew. He sacrificed _his life_ for us. We ought to know what is happening."

"Oh?" the 'God of Food' sneered. "How come? That knife won't do anything anyway."

"—Oh, it won't. But we do know of someone who he had contacted." Marco says, crossing his arms. "So you're going to tell us _everything_ you know, or we won't fess up." The figure glares, but he doesn't disappear when Marco slams the bowl of egg noodles onto the table in the infirmary. Haruta, having eavesdropped on the conversation beforehand, had already gathered the majority of the commanders in the infirmary, and they are fidgeting as the 'God of Food' tries to stare down at them but is failing to do so. It's hard to be intimidated once the event has occurred, and Thatch, who had initially been surprised at the sight of his ramen being animated, has long since gotten used to the idea that strange things occur around Goku. That hadn't changed at all, even after he died.

"Okay." The figure allows a trail of smoke to emit from the stick of spinach he's using like a cigarette. "What we, the Pirate King's Crew know is that Goku had, along with twenty others, traveled back in time. We don't know how it happened, but as far as we know, our captain's abilities never had 'time manipulation' as part of his abilities." Thatch notices that Ace, out of all of the division commanders present, didn't seem to be surprised at the thought of time travel. Marco had his usual stoic expression on, but that's only because he's trying to mask his shock.

"Time travel?" Izo queries. "Is that possible?"

"Don't underestimate our captain. He's capable of overwriting reality, so this is probably within the realm of possibilities for him." The 'God of Food' replies. "Raftel's being slightly twitchy at the moment, but because of our captain's death." He hisses, probably at the thought of Teach having killed him by squeezing, _squeezing_ him to death until water pops out like a _balloon_ _—"_ Raftel is open, but it's not where the maps describe. We're looking for those twenty, because we can't understand the degree that he's changed things until we get who the twenty is straightened out."

"Twenty? Twenty what, exactly?" Marco says, placing his chin on his hands.

"Twenty guardians. Each with a degree of control of something that affects sailing. Like the weather, or the currents, or the quality of food that is served. To give an example, our swordsman moves as fast and cuts as clean as the wind. " He motions to the bowl. "And all of us want to know what is the level of things that could change, because our archaeologist's suspecting that because of time going haywire, our own knowledge of certain things might be different from before."

"And your point?"

"What the captain has done is start the 'King Selection'. Roger's supposed to be the one holding court, but well you know he got executed and all, so the captain has to do it in his place. In our timeline, there wasn't any such thing, and by right there shouldn't be such a thing either, but when captain tried to place new pieces on the board, others are looking at the power they would wield instead of the keys that they possess towards Raftel."

"In other words," Marco summarises, "There's going to be more fights breaking out, because people are going to get more powers like Devil Fruits in order to fight for territory of their own." He's frowning in thought, a common sight these days because he's taking on a few more captain's duties while Pops is recovering. Thatch doesn't like the look of stress that Marco constantly wears, and all of the division commanders are worried, but Marco doesn't seem to want to open up to them. Thatch does not like it, but the entire crew, and him by extension could feel that Marco's not ready for taking over the role of captain if Pops were to hand it over.

Pops has been told to stick to the bed, and he nods off to sleep more often than not. The nurses think that it's more healthy this way for his wound to recover, but there's a heavy weight hanging over their eyes. Thatch tries to avoid the subject in his mind, but he sees that at this rate, Marco might become the next captain, and it won't be a good fit on him, not in the way it wears on Pops or on Goku.

Most of all, Thatch is afraid that Pops would die. He knows its inevitable, as most pirates die before they hit fifty in the Grand Line, and Pops has long overshot that, but the thought of him passing on is almost akin to blasphemy, because their reliance on him is _that_ strong. They are afraid to part from him, and Thatch is anxious at the thought of missing the glue that sticks the Whitebeard Pirates together.

"Exactly. Unlike the Devil Fruits though, there's a personality behind each of those powers, and we're looking at the allies that we have helped. However," the figure grows solemn, "The Self-Defense Force and the Revolutionary Army are after the twenty as well. Sure, they've been more subtle and lenient, but at the same time they have their own eyes on the throne. With our captain, both were willing to let him become king because the two leaders were friends with him and they share a commonality, but now with the captain gone, the two aren't working well together at all."

"The Pirate King's Crew." Curiel stretches three fingers, and folds one down, "The Self-Defence Force and the Revolutionary Army. Those were the three mentioned in the notice, weren't they?"

"Yeah. I'm not surprised that the Self-Defence Force's is unfamiliar to you. It was only created a few years after this, so many of its members are unknown to us. However, the key thing is that the heads of the three 'Powers' of the sea had came back fifty years ago, while we had only managed to piece ourselves together recently. So they've got a long time to hide, and the captain managed to place a 'law' preventing us from chasing away the two other powers."

"Hang on, hang on." Thatch brings up, because what the 'God of Food' just said sounded totally wrong. "The three powers aren't those three in question! What happened to the Shichibukai, the Yonko, and the Marines?" Because it's weird that the previous two hasn't been mentioned, even as the King had passed on in the future.

"The balance of power got altered quite a bit." The figure says dryly. "Time travel is pretty weird like that _—_ " He pauses, and then nods, as though he was listening to someone else even if the commanders had not spoke. "I see, interesting. So our captain was thinking. Wait, what am I saying? When does he think?" He scratches his head in confusion. "He's not capable of deep thought like that!" He turns towards the commanders.

"Apparently, the twenty guardians were capable of mending the mistakes that the captain had made when appearing in the past. My crewmate just got back to me; it looks like he's got plenty of support, even if the Self-Defense Force are trying to pressure the guardians into joining them." He scratches his chin.

"Now, I told you enough about this game. My question: When did our Captain leave the boat?"

"Let's see," Marco pats his chin. "Sabaody Archipelago. Fishman Island. Marineford."

"Those three locations? Should be right, he's looking for something familiar. I think I'll go to Fishman...Damn!" He suddenly hisses, spitting out a few stalks of vegetable, " _I wanted to see the mermaids, you shitty moss-head sword freak! Why must you deny me? No, I don't care about my communication skills being more important! What do you think a mermaid is! She's the perfection of human beauty, of elegance, and best of all, no panties! WHAT DID YOU JUST SAY! Take that back! I know my mission as well as you! I'm going to Mermaid Lagoon! I don't care if they don't see me, after all the mermaids are important and hot and sexy~!"_

The figure stops speaking, and hisses once again, before it descends back into the plate. All those presently available crammed their heads peering at the plate as Thatch poked at the set of noodles with a pair of chopsticks. The food didn't move again.

"Did anyone think that he's explained stuff satisfactorily?" Thatch asks, because he can't be the only one bamboozled by the sudden turn in conversation. "Because I'm having more questions than answers right now."

Without hesitation, all present nodded in agreement.

* * *

Ro (He is unsure of his name. All three bring bad associations, but at the same time, he's got to answer to something, so he uses Merry's name for him when at the bar and answers to what his kid calls him, but that's it) is stunned.

 _Bad Suggestion 204,_ he thought, as Merry cheerfully introduces to him their newest employee. _Merry's done it again._

"This is Kuma! He'll be helping us carry the heavy weights when unloading from the truck! Kuma, this is Ro! He's my other employee!" Merry, as happy-go-lucky as she acts, is not oblivious to the stares he's giving her. Ro knows he should be alarmed at his boss' frequent and often strange impulses, but this time she's gone overboard now.

"Boss? You do know who Kuma is, right? Doesn't he have an existing job already?" Despite her nature, Merry isn't oblivious. She huffs as she places her hands on her hip in response.

"Of course I do! But Kuma's on our side now, Kuma?" The 'Tyrant' is staring blankly ahead, and Ro can't tell if he was aware of what the boss had wanted when she had dragged him over.

"It's a pleasure to meet you." He says politely, because unlike his brother, he's been instilled with good manners and he's determined to show it. "I look forward to working with you."

For a second, Ro thought that he was going to start firing lasers at him. But the Shichibukai nods in acknowledgement, before turning to follow Merry into the kitchen.

Ro heaves a sigh of relief, before turning to do the plates. He's less careless with his movements, but he still has to pay full attention to each movement, because he knows that if he tries to multitask or think of different things at the same time, he's bound to have another accident. And he still hasn't stopped feeling embarrassed whenever he stares at the jar that contains quite a few coins for each injury he causes himself, one coin at a time.

He's going to fund the next 'Ladies Night' by himself if this keeps up.

For the next few days, they skirt around each other. Kuma's usually busy in the back house when he's on the island, so Ro tries to remain in the bar. He avoids the gaze of others and skirts round customers, which has led to an incredibly busy head bartender, but he's still okay with mixing drinks. He spent five years carefully pouring and re-pouring, and if it were him eleven and a half years ago, he would have been amazed that he didn't break three glasses each week. In the meantime, Kuma usually remains in the backroom, or guarding the Straw Hats' boat when he's not absent from Sabaody altogether.

Finally, Merry's grown sick and tired of their avoiding around each other, and tosses both of them into the backroom after work, calling them to 'get their shit together, because the tension's way too much'.

There is an awkward silence that stretches across minutes as the two stare at each other. Ro fidgets under the blankness of Kuma's eyes (He had no pupils, okay? Ro had a legitimate reason to be scared of him.) He knows how fearsome Kuma could be, because he's a former Marine after all and he's seen the bare sketches of the operation that Kuma's supposed to have gone through before that fateful undercover mission.

"..." Kuma's not exactly a conversation starter either, and Ro's always been comfortable with silences, but really? Merry can't handle cleaning up by herself, and someone's got to look after her because she's one lone woman in a place packed with men and Ro's grown to care for her for the last two years.

"I'll start." Ro starts ruefully. "I guess that what Vegapunk did to you failed?" He winces the moments the words come out of his mouth. Yeah, that was a surefire way to piss your conversation partner off. _Bravo,_ He thought sarcastically to himself.

"...Affirmative." Ro scratches his head nervously, because how the hell do you launch yourself into such a conversation. He's always been on the listening side. To have someone who is even more silent than him is strange.

"So it must be strange, right?" The man is looking at him in an inquisitive manner, so he hesitates, before carrying on impulsively, "I think I can understand that. About things not going like you want them too. Because you think that it's alright, things will be okay so you can pass on now and whoever you're protecting will be fine. Instead, you survive," and he thinks back to the grieved expression on the child-turned-man's face when he blearily open his eyes. He couldn't hear his kid's words, because not only were they mangled by the kid's sobbing, his hearing wasn't working properly and he was still trying to puzzle out what the kid was saying when he passed out again.

"You wonder why the hell you're alive. You think that matters that were supposedly finished upon your death weren't settled at all. So there's this uncomfortable feeling in your chest, because you miss what relationships you used to have, and that niche you fit in before? Doesn't actually hold you, because others change with years and yet you're still constant and feel left out. So you carve a new niche for yourself, and...yeah I should probably stop talking now." And he stops because he doesn't know what to say. He realises that in some ways, he can understand what Kuma's going through. It's not a happy thought.

"..."

"Did I say something wrong?" He scratches his head because he probably has long overstepped the boundaries of politeness.

"No." Kuma taps his book. It's a bible, one that Ro knows his father had kept in his desk when he was younger, but had subsequently sold away in poorer times. Ro and his brother stopped believing in any higher entity above right about the time they were caught and hung, and he doesn't believe in fate, but his kid still does, so they don't really discuss it at all, because it makes for awkward conversations and they instead move on to the things they can agree on.

"When you engage with others, you want to make the best impression of yourself. But because you're using preconceived interpretations, your own interpretation causes you to say things that you normally won't say out loud at all. I personally feel that what defines a person is not just his memories, but his personality."

"Then should not the core of a person be his _soul_ then?" Kuma asks politely.

"If you think of it that way..." Ro pauses, recalling the period between dying and waking up, "In my own experience, I think a person's not just a soul. It's the sum of his relationships, and the way he behaves, and the memories that he has of others..." He says, thinking back to when he and his kid had danced around the subject of his brother for weeks. They were discussing whether his brother could truly be saved. His kid had argued that after being shot, Ro was in no disposition to forgive him, but the teenager hadn't been through the same experiences that he and his brother had. Sure, they've been through crushing blows. But the kid's succeeded where his brother had thrown himself back into the position of being the one that bullies rather than the one who stands up for the rest of his friends.

Even when Ro knows that his brother is a monster in all the ways that matter, he still can't imagine the thought of his brother dying. It's too visceral, especially after feeling the blood of his father covering himself as his brother walked away with his father's dead head.

"it's up to you as to how you perceive yourself." He realises. "If you choose to be a tyrant, then you are. If you choose to be a normal person, if you think of yourself in terms of relationships, in terms of days that you've worked, in terms of the memories you accumulate with others...You only die really when you're forgotten."

Kuma's eyes widened.

"To give an example, Gold Roger hasn't died yet. His ghost, soul, if you call it that way, continues to haunt this world because what he says lives on. Equally, our loved ones never leave us, because what they do, what remains of them is memories of others, and be it good or bad, it's still what they leave behind. So if you were to say you died, then you haven't really left this world until there's no one who remembers you, be it first-hand or through accounts from others." Ro finishes, staring at the table and examining the lines in the wood. He peeks a glance upwards, and his jaw doesn't drop in shock, but it's close.

Kuma has frozen, having long since abandoned his bible and has chosen instead to mouth the words 'forgotten memories'. Before Ro could say anything, the bulky man dashes away in a headlong rush, leaving behind an outline of him in the wood.

Ro shakes his head, and goes towards the bar to help Merry out with her roaring business after putting in a hasty repair of the hole in the backroom wall. Kuma doesn't come back until well over midnight, and when he wakes up to get a cup of water, Kuma's sitting on the bar stool.

Instead of speaking, he's flipping the pages of a book. It's not a bible that Ro recognises, and he goes closer for a look. It's one that is currently being displayed on bookshelves as a volume in a popular series, but the face of the author is familiar to him, because it's the customer, Jacob, whose arrival had precipitated one of the biggest reveals of his existence.

"Is it any good?" He says, because even if he knows the identity of the author, he didn't really peg the guy as a good teller of stories. Maybe a former officer with quirks, but definitely not one that he would immediately point out as someone who writes.

"Yes." Ro hums.

He thinks that though they're still a bit strange around each other, Kuma's seems to cheer up a bit more. Sengoku comes, more often than what his duty as Fleet Admiral may suggest, but he's never spotted Kuma anyway, because Ro's always standing outside waiting for him when he senses his foster father.

What is a name? It is merely what one would use to refer to oneself. The sum of what you _are._

"I haven't given my full name to you, have I?" Merry perks up, but she pretends not to listen. Kuma on the other hand shrugs.

"It has not come up in our conversation before. Is it important?"

"Yes." He's only revealed it to three people thus far. Kuma would be the third, and those two had already known beforehand who he was.

"It's—"


	18. Dreams and Reality

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Crocodile finds that things once thought impossible could be achieved. The Whitebeard Pirates encounter their greatest crisis yet.

_In Paradise..._

Crocodile's damned annoyed. He was planning on heading towards the New World, to make a name for himself as Whitebeard licked his wounds. After Marineford, he's bound to be weaker, isn't he? Perfect chance for another attempt at getting rid of the person who had squashed him like a tiny thing unworthy of coming to the surface.

Crocodile isn't having any of that. He's going to build up his own powers first. Having his weakness found and exploited by the Straw Hat boy is annoying, especially when that naive Marine captain who got the credit for defeating him with full knowledge of it. (Ha! As if he could have ever been beaten by the 'Hero of Loguetown'! )

It was a tussle between his emotions towards Straw Hat. Hatred, because that brat had blown his plans to annihilation and back. He had planned, had plotted, had sown his own version of the Hydra from myth in order to cement his control over the kingdom of Alabasta, and for Straw Hat, a boy barely into his spell as a pirate to have destroyed it in a matter of _weeks..._ Well no more! Crocodile had learned from his mistakes. He's going to set the ground work out, such that even as he was cut off, it was going to continue after him!

But at the same time, he's startled, because no one should have a dream like that. No one should be able to tell him that he's going to be the Pirate King and believe every single word that the Straw Hat has spoken to him. No one should be able to break out of Impel Down, but _he_ did it. Crocodile still couldn't understand the Straw Hat boy. Why had he rescued a girl who tried to kill him? Why did he fight for a naive, insignificant little _princess_ even as he was beaten again and again!

No one should say that they could, when Crocodile had done the same...and had his dreams _eradicated_ by the so-called benevolent 'emperor of the new world. It. Didn't. Make. Sense!

Being a Pirate King was worthless, when one couldn't back it up with power. Yet the Straw Hat couldn't, or _wouldn't_ take that. Crocodile, were he feeling more kindly, could have appreciated that. But still, hadn't it blown up in Straw Hat's face?

Crocodile stared at his _existing_ right hand. It shouldn't be possible, especially as he tried again and again to replace it after it got cut off. He had strained himself to the point of exhaustion, as he bathed himself in the desert, willing for his hand to take shape, for his loss to be overcame. He had concentrated, focused, narrowed his eyes and kept trying and trying to visualise the lost appendage.

Sometimes, he had almost wished to give up. Then he thought back on how he had lost. Losing one would mean losing the use of that hand. And he was a logia, right? He should have been able to avoid that. Why _hadn't_ he? He knew that the answer was just barely within his grasp.

Crocodile screamed and shouted in frustration as the limb. refused. to. take. shape. It didn't listen. His arm was still cut off at the wrist. There was no swirling of sand, nor gusts of wind. All that was left was

missing. _Gone._ Never to return.

Clenching his teeth, Crocodile bit down, and forced the hook onto his wrist. Three months to stop scratching at the phantom limb. Months to get used to having a hook rather than fingers to grab. Years to learn how to fight capably with it.

All lost within a night.

But now, months after Marineford, months after the War of the Best...it reappeared, as if it hadn't left in the first place. Mr. 1 attributed it to an act of god. Crocodile was not ready to believe that. If god had existed, why didn't it aid him in the first place? If it existed, why hadn't Pluton landed in his hands? If it existed, why did the world give birth to Straw Hat and him in the same era?

Open. Close. Open. Close. The hand seemed to mock him, as though it was something that had existed all along, only that his efforts weren't enough initially. But he had _tried._ He had strained to will it into existence before forcing a replacement and learning to fight with it, and to use any means necessary to win, such that it no longer happened again.

His own powers were becoming stranger and stranger. At one point of time, Mr. 1 had thanked him for forming a wall of sand when they were resting for the night. Crocodile had done no such thing, but the wall of sand had _existed,_ as though it had appeared out of thin air. When a girl had pick-pocketed them, he had sent a wave of _Ground Secco_ but nothing had happened, only that a thin whip of sand had appeared, latched onto the girl's hand forcing it to drop the pouch that she had pinched off him.

In anger, he had sent a _Barjan,_ but instead of dehydrating the girl, it had merely caused a ring of sand to surround him, preventing him from chasing after the panicked would-be thief. Rather than the offensive attacks that it was meant to be, something had gone wrong with the powers that were given by the Devil Fruit. It had became...passive, for the lack of a better word.

Then two nights ago, the alarm clock had rang...and Crocodile had shut it off. With his right hand. That shouldn't exist.

He had chased off Mr. 1 with a few stern insults, before sitting down on a rock and examining his hand.

_Why the hell am I stuck with you?_

Crocodile startled, looking around for the female voice that had vibrated throughout the clearing that was their temporary campsite. No one was there.

_It's not fair! I hate you so much._

That voice was familiar. It was...

"Miss Wednesday?" Before Crocodile's very eyes, the wind whipped around him, causing his coat and hair to flap against him as dust swirled round and round him. Trees shuddered as they dried out. The insects in this clearing grew silent, as though it was fearful of what was to occur next.

Then, as though it had already been there, a figure had appeared. Face of finely divided rock. Robes of constantly swirling, spinning particles of silt and gravel. A sparkling jewel of sapphire at her throat. Dust forming a long tail running down her shoulders.

 _Crocodile._ The figure hissed, folding her arms. _I don't want you._

"And I you, Miss Wednesday." Crocodile snidely answered. He knew that the princess was far, far away from here, in the kingdom of Alabasta living the life of luxury that she had been born in as though she had never been a bounty hunter, had never _killed._ Yet here she was, standing before him, making an angry face as she stomped her feet.

 _I knew there was a risk._ She scoffed as she circled him, her eyes continually pinned to his face. _But who would have thought that I would be stuck with you, tyrant._

"Same here, princess. Mind telling me what's going on?" He poked the sand figure on the chest, eliciting a hiss of anger.

 _This doesn't make sense._ She mouthed, tilting her head. _You're no Pirate King!_

The old pain came back. Damn girl. "Oh believe me, I know that!" Crocodile snarled. "I know that _very well._ There is no need for you to say that, little girl!"

_Don't call me a girl, tyrant. You have no idea what is going on. And I would never, never make you a King. Far from it! I would weaken you, I would make sure that you never harmed a single being ever again..._

"YOU DID THIS!" Crocodile roared, finally having an answer to the problems he had faced while using his powers. "What the hell are you doing! When I return to the New World, I need those powers! Powers that would let me have my just revenge!"

 _Revenge on what, tyrant? Luffy? On Whitebeard? Who is responsible for your weakness...but yourself?_ Crocodile cringed, her words hitting the nail right on the head.

"I would have it all! Those who dream should _dream on_! Because the world isn't kind, the world isn't fair!" Crocodile let the anger, the frustration he had bottled up all those years have free reign over his words. "And no one should have the right to dream!"

 _Listen to your words._ Miss Wednesday smirked. _Do you honestly believe yourself? Dreams are important! Because you lost sight of yourself...Look at you. I pity you of all people._ She gave a high, throaty laugh. _Do you think that can carry on? This entire era was started by a dream, a vision...And a king has to have a vision. If not, he becomes weak. He lets his past mistakes overshadow the future he envisions. And that's not how you can look after your own people!  
_

"Or he becomes sensible. He learns from his mistakes. He would take over with strength-"

_Strength isn't everything! Argh! That is why you can never be king! You have no idea of the future. You let things be. A king needs to look after his people! A king has to know what he's aiming for, and not the general destruction of the world! That doesn't make a king!_

"Bullshit." Crocodile flatly said. "What people? A king, in the end is one that subjugates his people. "

_Of course not! Why are you so stubborn? A king, in the end, is reliant on the beliefs of his people. Of course there's room for cynicism, there's room for strength. But if you don't respond to the people, if you don't engage with others...there's a reason that only Mr. 1 is still loyal to you. What happened to the rest of your organisation? You only have Mr. 1, 2, and 3 in the same prison. And even then, Mr. 2 and 3 left you.  
_

"So I should sit back and let people walk over me?" Crocodile shouted at the female figure. "So that I could be betrayed?"

 _Give them a reason not to betray._ The female frowned. _Give them something that makes them stick by you. Mr. 1 values his relationship with you, that's why he's still here. A crew's loyalty is made of what you are to them. Without trust, without camaraderie, there's no way anyone would be willing to throw themselves for you! You need to learn that!_

"Go away, Miss Wednesday." The figure rolled his eyes, and snapped its fingers. A second later, Crocodile watched as his right hand was reformed back to its original shape.

 _A token of what I can do. If you want to get back your powers again,_ the figure stuck out its tongue, _you have to learn what 'immutability' really means. Otherwise, no hand, bastard._

"You little..." As Crocodile re-examined his hook, suddenly unused to the cold metal lining his wrist, the female figure of Miss Wednesday let out another bout of laughter, and vanished into thin air.

"...Damn." Crocodile tried to use his powers to reshape it back to his hand (Was he missing it? Couldn't be) but failed. He tried another time, visualizing his hand in place. Still no dice.

Then Crocodile thought about sand. Sand is mutable. It can be transformed, reshaped, changed. It can be...

Crocodile could have kicked himself in the chest. Not that he minded.

It's not just sand he's looking at. He can create sandstorms that he can't control. He can freely desiccate other bodies with just a thought. In other words, it's not just sand he's got control of.

Water, carbon. Minerals such as potassium and calcium. Iron, found in hematite. In other words, if he's got control over water, over wind...

He's got control over a lot of things related to sand.

First. Bones. He twitches, focusing on the calcium. Then, flesh, using proteins made of basic matter like nitrogen and hydrogen and oxygen. Links using hydrogen bonds, disulfide bonds, ionic salt bridges and...

Skin. _Nails even._

Before his eyes, what was once hard, precious metal becomes muscular.

Mutable. Dreams were _mutable._ Sand was changing. Dreams shift and change. Not one path is absolute to a single goal.

 _You did it._ Miss Wednesday pronounced in an astonished voice. _You actually...how?_

"Now then, Miss Wednesday." Crocodile felt a smirk creep over his features. "Talk fast. Starting with why you are currently standing here instead of Alabasta." He raises a finger as sand is whisked into the air, hoisted by the tiniest grains, forming a face.

 _Fine._ The words are reluctant, sulky even. _Let's start with the current state of the world._

* * *

_"Oi, old man." Cherry blossom petals floated in a swirl of wind. "When are you_ _dying?"_

_"Brat." A shadowy figure was behind him, but Edward Newgate could not turn his head. His entire body felt as though someone had replaced his bones with lead, and his muscles with jelly. Even his fingers were immobilized, unable to respond.  
_

_They were in a familiar forest. Newgate half expected Roger to emerge from behind the tree, arms carrying an enormous sake bottle as well as two cups, roaring with laughter in his usual matter while Rayleigh tiredly yelled at him in exasperation while keeping an eye on Red Hair and that big nosed boy but the only one present was the shadowy voice._

_It felt familiar._

_"I'm pretty damned old, you know?" The voice made a sound akin to swallowing something. "Like over thirty. Not a brat, you know?"_

_"Then who are you?" Newgate muttered as he tried to inch his body away from the figure, but it didn't respond to his command at all. He knows that this isn't a dream, because even as weak as he had felt these past few days, his dreams hadn't changed to something remotely similar to this situation. It's a period of half-wakeful, half-imagination. He doesn't like it.  
_

_"I wonder why were you rescued? You're not that important." The voice behind him seemed to echo a smirk behind that tone of wry sarcasm. "And it's Jacob, by the way."_

_"Who are you referring to then?" Because Newgate hasn't been rescued by anyone for a very long time. There is only one person that qualifies.  
_

_"Well, my very, very dear rival of course! He keeps changing his name though." The figure faces him, and Whitebeard could finally put a face to the voice he's been hearing all the while. A white long coat with epaulets. A marine's uniform._

_"I'm not from the Marines, in case you're wondering." He ruefully fingers the neckerchief that he's wearing. "But I do love dress up. The next few weeks are going to be busy, if you get what I mean."_

_" **After all.** " He grins menacingly. "Things are all going aflutter."_

_Petals dance, flowing in between them. The mysterious figure gives a smirk, bowing out of his vision._

_And Newgate...Newgate is still here. He is stuck in the middle of nowhere, with no one to talk to, no sons to converse with. He has the company of cherry blossoms and a still pond, but that's it._

_"Anyone there?" He can't move, can't fidget, can't twitch, but his mind is clear._

_He's facing his worst fear._

_Why can't he move?_

_Why can't anyone hear him?_

_"ANYONE?" His voice echoes, but echoing is not the same as actual conversation._

_Whitebeard is alone._

* * *

Jacob smirks. Oh he hadn't enjoyed trolling someone that much in a long, long time. Usually it was him being pissed off. Be it the antics of the Pirate King, or the various emperors that owed no allegiance to their supposed lord, he had been kept busy in his time in the future. Not to mention the _nonsense_ he had to deal with. Oh Pirate King, why must you plague him so? Now that he had been alleviated of his duties, he's got plenty of time to kill.

Heh. Time. Something that's mutable, even when they hadn't expected it. Kill. He's been doing so much of that for these few years.

Jacob wasn't a writer when he was younger. But his heart, as always, has been filled to the brim with the sea. It's almost amusing how his interests hasn't changed one bit from the time he had met the Pirate King, to now.

Jacob is a writer of fiction. But he is also a planner. Jacob's fame spreads together with the books he has authored. But his authority was greater as the second-in-command of the Self-Defense Force.

Oh of course he's not the leader. Who would want to impose such a heavy burden on themselves like that? Once was enough, thank you very much. So many prideful egos to deal with, as leaders who had made their way to the top via pure grit and overwhelming power were won to have. So many dreams he had to _crush._

It was so disappointing though. Merry's position as a guardian of Raftel would definitely make his job of crushing dreams easier if she had just agreed to work under him. But the bartender was so stubborn. And her employees as well. Two others who shouldn't have existed, shouldn't have even been on the game board to begin with were with her.

On the flip side, this meant that they and their respective allies were kept well out of the way for the next two years. On the board, but at home base, not able to move on until Merry can be moved. In other words, they're at a choke point. No Pacifistas to worry about, because the project's been put on hold until Vegapunk could confirm that they are in no real danger of having true will. And the scientist wouldn't think so until Kuma's lost his own will. Which isn't happening because Merry was there. No 'Surgeon of Death' to think about, because he doesn't know Straw Hat particularly well either, and vice versa.

Butterflies shift a wing. Vibrations reverberate towards the air, as superfluous as that may sound. Whirlwinds are created on the other seas.

Ripple-effects are so interesting to study. If only if it didn't affect his plans so much.

Shirahoshi's trying to make her own move. Jacob _giggles_ as he flips a pawn on its head. Naughty, naughty. _Who told you that badgirls could have nice things?_ Shirahoshi has to respect the fact that even as time is changeable, destiny isn't.

There would be a crisis to solve on Fishman Island. Just not the one that Luffy was supposed to solve, that is. Shirahoshi may try her best to overcome the generations of distrust between fishmen and humans, but she will need Straw Hat. It is the only way for things to go back to Day Zero.

Well, someone's got to patrol the 'D's after all. If his rival refuses to comply, then that's fine, because since when did Straw Hat listen to someone else?

But Jacob's got to exert some control over the situation. He can't bear to let the pawns go amok. It destroys the grand strategy he's been building. If Straw Hat chooses to fight, he would fight back.

_"Have you forgotten? This is the summary of our roles. You are to flee; I am to chase. There won't be an end until you die before I catch you, or I claim the credit for taking you in."_

_"Shishishishi! I understand that. That's the promise between us! I run, you chase. I get free, you get mad!_

Was it so long ago that they had been simply one Marine running after another? Those carefree (well, not really.) days of being an executor of justice were over. He is still a practitioner, yes. But he is more vicious, because the pirates of this era are more tiresome to deal with.

He doesn't know what Justice is anymore. But what he knows is—

Things had spiraled out of his control in his time. He's not going to sit by and watch the world fall into chaos _again._

* * *

"What is it?" the king's cook is annoyed. The swordsman had simply shrugged and wandered off aimlessly, probably off to provoke another fight. He on the other hand, had followed a fruitless search in Marineford, as no one had been observed to hold the presence of a guardian. Someone else is checking up Sabaody, but he can tell that it's dire when he detects the presence of _tonkatsu_ ramen on board the _Moby Dick._

Since his last visit, Thatch had been leery of preparing ramen and the assorted forms of stringy noodles, and the rest of the cooks prepare meals that aren't fit to be his vessel. The fact that a division commander's cooking something that has proven to be a joke among the Whitebeard Pirates proves that something has _gone wrong._

"It's an emergency." Thatch points towards the bed. " _Pops won't wake up."_

Beads of sweat dot his brow as the old man lies still, his hands bound by strong rope lined with linen. He's been clearly sedated, but his breathing is harsh, short. The beeping in the background hints at his agitated state, despite the heavy sedation that the king's cook could faintly smell.

In other words, he's in a nightmare he can't wake up from. Knowing the medical expertise of the Whitebeard Pirates secondhand, the king's cook smells foul play. He's no doctor, but he can tell from the anxious expressions on the lovely lady nurses and doctors that are flitting in and out of the infirmary that this isn't normal for Whitebeard at all.

"Okay." He searches the faces of the worried crew. The division commanders are clearly at the end of their tethers. "This isn't my expertise."

"Do something!" Some brat with a thick collar mutters as she paced back and forth in the already crowded infirmary.

"...We have tried all available resources." The man with dreadlocks spits out painfully. "Yet he won't wake up."

"This has to be something that you know, because nothing has changed since your last...visit." The crossdresser (who the cook can tell would object strongly to being called an okama) responds spitefully.

The king's cook bites his chashu lip. It's not a medical issue, but because a cook knows the body of a person he's about to feed, he can tell that Whitebeard's physically _alright._ Mentally, however, he's not all there.

If it weren't for the beeping noise, the king's cook would have told them that the man's mind is long gone. But the thing is, he's still alive.

Then he whiffs. A smell of cherry blossoms. But underneath, there is something...else. Cigar smoke.

" _Damn it!"_ Because he recognises that smell. The king's cook had smelled it on Dawn Island, hidden beneath cherry blossoms, but it still scars his mind because _that man was supposed to be reliable_.

"I know who did this. It's the one who killed our captain."

* * *

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is Jacob, I wonder?


	19. Incoming Collision

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Fleet Admiral creates a battlefield. We learn a bit about Ro. Akainu discusses his plans for the Marines. Ace reconnects with the Straw Hat Crew

"Chopper!" The king's doctor stands up as Sanji appears back on board the ship. "The damn Fleet Admiral is at it again!"

Chopper winces. The Fleet Admiral had been an ally to them. In fact, he and their captain had been on first name terms even. Though they fought at every meeting, it was a tradition, and not out of pure hatred. Hell, the captain had even gone to the Fleet Admiral for advice!

But their friendship was long wiped out of existence when instead of executing their captain in private, a simultaneous attack had been carried out on the Straw Hat Grand Fleet, killing hundreds of its members. So the crew had to go to war, because they were nakama, and they could not stand to see their allies fall.

Whatever fond feelings between them had been destroyed irrevocably when Chopper had died on Dawn Island, yet Chopper still felt betrayal cross his heart when he heard how the Fleet Admiral had invaded and taken over the dreams of one of his captain's allies.

Nightmares were something Chopper hated. And he hated the fact that someone had imposed their nightmares on another.

"How did they know that it has to do with us?" Usopp, who had been toying with some of the systems on board the ship they were using, asked as he sat down at the table.

"This was left." The king's cook deposited something on the table. Chopper watched as Usopp examined the object.

It was a piece of parchment, with the insignia of an anchor stamped on it.

_Twenty were split, each to find a king_

_Three powers split, don't know a thing_

_I seriously can't write poetry you know?_

_Go ask the crew of the Pirate King!_

"Recognise the handwriting? It's got him all over the place." Sanji hissed. "And I smelled that stupid cigar before, and it's on the Whitebeard ship."

"So it's really him, then?" Chopper felt his heart sink, because he had still respected the Fleet Admiral. This was yet another nail in the coffin for the Fleet Admiral's reputation.

Where had things gotten wrong? Chopper didn't know at all, but he felt that clearly something had provoked the Fleet Admiral into taking this course.

"Sanji, what's your take on this situation?" Usopp says, frowning in thought. After Robin, who's currently investigating Baltigo, Sanji's the best at ferreting out information. From disguising himself at Little Garden, to sneaking on board the Sea Train, Sanji had been the ace in terms of sussing out information, even as he emphasized on his cooking credentials more.

"We found out from moss-head that the so-called Twenty Guardians are instructed to 'find their king'. Rule 1: They aren't allowed to choose the same one, so twenty captains would make their way to Raftel. Rule 2: All are to remain in hiding, to prevent us, the Self-Defense Force and the Revolutionary Army from finding them. Shirahoshi herself isn't being particularly secretive about the fact that they were instructed to hide, so that means the main threat has to come from the other two forces. In lieu of this, the Fleet Admiral of the Self-Defense Force has to be the danger that the Captain's worried about."

"Did you find out who posted that announcement? Robin?" Because there is an ear on the door to the fridge, meaning their archaeologist's just received their important message. With a flutter of flowers, a mouth sprouts on the same door.

"It was placed anonymously. Previously, it was supposed to be an advertisement for someone's book, but someone had changed the advertisement to that announcement in the printing room. Based on the evidence found, it seems that a publishing company set up by the Self-Defense Force would be responsible."

"The Self-Defense Force again, huh?" Sanji rubs his chin in thought. "That schism really created an enemy like nobody else. Robin, have you found the location of the Fleet Admiral?"

"…" The mouth pursed, as the user appeared to concentrate in thought. Finally, the mouth opened again, and two words emerged from the mouth of the user.

The cigarette in Sanji's mouth dropped out.

* * *

_"I'm sorry for doing this." One figure shadowed in darkness spoke as he faced another, fingering his hat._

_"No you're not." the second figure crossed his arms._

Newgate has been shouting himself hoarse for the past few days. Yet the scene continued to play on and on, and his words fell on deaf ears.

_"I understand your actions. But I disagree with them."_

_"Must we come to this then?" A third figure emerges from a shadow, lowering his hood. The first shrugs._

_"Then as an affirmation of our agreement, here." The second tossed his gloves at him. "It was given to me by your grandfather."_

_"Really?" The first figure puts them on. "...Heavy." The second scoffs, turning his head away._

_"Of course! It's seastone-lined, and you're a Devil Fruit user!"_

_"And you're not?" The third says, offering his cloak to the second. Then, the first pressed onto him the hat he had been toying with._

_"You're okay with this, Pirate King?"_ Pirate King? Newgate strains his eyes, and found that the first figure had a familiar outline. So the first was Goku? And it was given in exchange for...a hat.

_"Shishishi, it's a good anchor of our agreement. That hat, look after it for me, would ya?" Tossing a sloppy version of a salute, the first figure laid his arms around the other two. They stayed like that for a while, each knowing that it may be the last time they saw each other._

_"Right then. Time to go!" The darkness started to surround them, enveloping them in its grasp. It curled outwards, before swirling, with the three in the eye of the hurricane of shadows. With a rush of air, the three disappeared from view._

* * *

"Rum for three!" It was a busy day at _Merry's Bar._ Customers were shouting, pub brawls about to start...yeah, typical Friday night.

"Here's your rum, enjoy." Ro hurriedly pasted a smile to his face. "Thirty bellies each."

"Oh, and why should I?" One of the customers (North Blue Pirates, by the look of their clothing) pointed a gun at his head. Ro freezes, staring at the empty wall while his mind is racing through unforgotten images.

 _Bang! Bang! Bang! Snow's falling. Law is silent in the chest. Ro feels the burn of gunshots in his chest, and added on to the further injuries that he received, it's enough to send him into the depths of unconsciousness, but he mustn't, he must not go to sleep, because then Law would be found out. He grits his teeth, willing for him to stay awake, just stay awake_ —

"Read the sign! Get out!" In a rush, Merry's by his side, crossing her arms and glaring down the pirates. "You won't get better rum at this price, mind you!" With her sleeves rolled up, she picked the three of them by the scruff of their necks and tossed them right through the door. Those in her path quickly dodged the woman, and a group of Marines even shifted their entire table in response.

"Do you want to sit down for a while?" Ro looks down, and his hands are trembling.

"No, I'll just wait for the shift to be over." Two more hours. He can handle that.

When the clock strikes 2 in the morning, the bar's almost clear, and it's with a sigh of relief that Merry flips the sign. Ro slumps down onto the bar, face lying flat against the wood.

"That was exhausting." Despite saying that, Merry still has her 'customer' smile on her face, though it looks a lot less convincing then at the start of the shift. She tucks the chairs into the table before starting to wash up. Ro rises to help, but is shot a glare by Merry, who motions for him to sit down.

"What happened this time?" She coaxes in a soothing voice.

"Shooting. Snow." He breathes out, lying his head onto his arms. "Triggered by the pirates from North Blue."

"Ah. I'll make an example of them next time round." Merry shakes her head. "I pasted a notice telling them that I'm an expert at breaking up quarrels before they start, but do they listen? No~" She drags out the last word as the glass clinks against the sink.

"...I just hate feeling so terrible each time I get a flashback." Ro sighs, ruffling his hair. He still couldn't take a gun to the face, eleven years after the shooting. Ro was supposed to protect his kid. Instead, Law had jumped right into the muddy depths of piracy.

Ro felt a slight amount of awkward pride at the threat level that his kid had posed. That didn't stop him from bragging about it to the wholesaler. And the icemaker. And Kuma, who doubtless knew about the bounty of his kid already.

Maybe he went a bit too far? But he was so god damn proud of the boy who had escaped his brother with him.

"It's okay. You're doing better than those early years." Merry lays a hand on his back, rubbing it in circles. Ro sank back into his chair, and let out a moan at the reminder.

Those were horrible, horrible years. Days when he simply did not feel like rising out of his bed; weeks spent in rehabilitation, relearning every movement; months of trying to acclimatize to loud noises and being on edge whenever someone had stepped too closely to his personal space...he was so useless...

Sometimes Ro wondered why he was rescued in the first place. Law was able to move on from Flevance and from Minion Island, living as freely as he could. Doffy was as much as an asshole, judging by his success in taking over Dressarosa (which never failed to give him a pang of guilt, because that information that was supposed to reach the Marines? Never materialized, and it was all his fault).

He was a former Marine, and he couldn't get back to where he came from. Double crossing both organizations would do that to you, and right now his social circle's his kid, Merry...and Kuma. And the icemaker, who's a wily bastard who overcharges for his services but trustworthy. And Shakky, who's smirking even as she and Merry helped the wholesaler get rid of a persistent stalker.

He had friends in the Marines before, but he's checked up on them through less than legal channels. Bellmere dead due to pirates invading her hometown. Norrington's flagship didn't survive an encounter with a whirlpool and a Sea King. Nelson died of a summer disease in a winter island. The list goes on and on, because the Marines haven't had much luck with members of the lower-end of the power spectrum. He's been gone for years, and the turnover rate's high.

There's a bubble closing down on him, and he finds it difficult to breathe. His chest is not moving, and the scars are so hot, and Law _isn't there right behind him, he's in danger, Doffy pleasebrotherplease—_

"Hey. Hey, it's alright." She squeezes him loosely. "People get injured. People get shellshock. It's normal. Breathe." Ro lets in one, two choking gasps, not realizing he was hyperventilating until then. His palms are sweaty, and he absentmindedly rubs them against his pants.

Merry looks at him as she does all her customers. Steady, calmly.

"Prepare me a drink." She places a highball glass filled with ice in front of him.

Ro closes his eyes. In it, he remembers the first time Merry prepares it in front of him. It had been a warm day, and Law (who was still underage then) had wanted a drink, and had refused the common alternatives of coffee and iced tea.

"2 parts orange juice." He carefully strained the juice into the mixer. "2 parts pineapple juice. 1 part lemon juice." (He recalled Law making a face when he saw the lemon being squeezed out.)

"Half part of grenadine." He shook the mixer, before straining it into the glass. He adds soda before garnishing it with a slice of orange.

"A 'Cinderella', please enjoy." Merry takes the glass, staring at the evenly mixed drink before sipping it.

"Seven out of ten." She pronounces, and Ro allows a smirk to creep up his lips. The first time he did it, Law had grimanced and said that 'it sucked'. Because it was non-alcoholic, Ro tested his skills with this particular drink the most often. It's no wonder he's an old hand at it.

Most bartenders don't drink on duty, and Ro had to struggle to get out of the alcoholic trap. Temptation's dancing before his eyes each day as he surveys the bar, but he keeps himself busy by pouring, rather than downing alcohol. He could never hold his head high if he ever regressed back to drowning his sorrows in liquor.

"Well done." Merry beams. "Let's take a break, I'll wake you up at 9 tomorrow so that we can start preparing for Saturday _—"  
_

Merry stops, and tilts her head.

"Something's ringing." Without a word, she heads towards the backroom where the Transponder Snail is kept.

 _Purupurupuru._ Who contacts the bar at this time?

"Ro, throw up a privacy shield." Merry picks up the receiver, and watches as the snail's expression changes.

"Please make your way to our base now, Merry."

"No way, no way." Merry lets out a hiss. "I'm not your servant! You can't tell me what to do, Jacob!"

"Are you certain about that? There are people whom the Marines might want to know about, you know." Ro freezes. Because he knows that he'll be court-martialed for his actions on Minion Island, if not for Sengoku's unofficial protection. And Kuma is running the gauntlet each time he goes for a check-up with Vegapunk, because the World Government is determined to succeed in creating a human weapon out of him.

Merry doesn't keep in close contact with people outside of Sabaody. But those linked with her bar are her greatest weakness, because unlike her, they could be threatened directly.

But Merry doesn't abandon them. She chooses to risk her safety and freedom for their own. So Ro won't leave her alone as well.

"What does Jacob want?" He signs, while Merry lets out a huff.

"He wants us to fight for him. But we will _not._ " She turns back to the receiver. "In one and a half year's time, someone important shall start their journey into the New World, and I'm eager to send him off. If I do follow you, that means I would never be able to make it back in time."

"What if I were to say I have something important? Something that you treasure beyond belief?" The snail gives off a smug expression that all the alarm bells are ringing in Ro's head. It's so similar to his brother's smile in normal times, a kind that brings shivers down your spine. Ro doesn't like the look of this.

"...What do you have?" Fear weighs heavily on her brow as she sits down on the bar stool.

"Hmm? A few _really_ tall children, perhaps?" Merry stands up, and her fist clenches around the receiver in frustration.

"What are you planning to do to them? They're innocent!" She wails, and Ro thinks back to when Jacob had last came into the bar, telling him another path to Raftel. Merry had protested as Jacob continued to wax poetic on how the world has changed and thus new methods have to be implemented.

Jacob was firm in his belief that only by controlling the flow of people travelling could there be security. To Merry, this was unacceptable because this? This was curtailing freedom. This was taking away the liberty of others. And she refused to be a part of their cause, and rejected joining the Self-Defense Force on many occasions.

Looks like this was their payback.

"Oh, I'm not saying I am going to do anything. But there's quite a few children who are being poisoned, you know? And if they wait for, oh I _don't know_ , a few more years, then there's no hope for them _at all._ " There's a low laugh, and Ro feels sickened, because this? Poisoning children? Blackmailing an honest woman like Merry with their lives?

Merry's lips draw in a firm line. It's clear what decision she has to take, because Merry's kind soul would never risk the lives of innocence for principles.

"Meet you at our base _then_ ~!" The person on the other line sings before Merry slams the receiver back on the transponder snail.

"THAT _—"_ She starts waving her arms, "PIG! That insufferable blackmailing rum-soaken fool!" And she whispers insults and exaggerations, vulgarity spilling past her lips in a sharp tone. Merry rarely loses her cool but Ro's mind races to resolve the uncomfortable situation they have found themselves in.

"Say, Merry, where's Self-Defense Force base?" Merry pronounces two words with disgust, and Ro startles, because it's just so _perfect._

"I'll call my kid on this. He'll help after hearing about the poison." Because Law would be the first person to know what it's like, iron borders trapping you within the confines of a dying nation, and death at your doorstep, and his Devil Fruit would be _bloody effective_ against the poison that Jacob hints in his 'proposal'.

Still, Law would definitely participate anyway, because Ro's been keeping tabs on Doffy, and if there's one way to call his attention, then let the SAD factory be destroyed by any means necessary.

And maybe, _maybe,_ Ro could forgive himself for failing to prevent Dressarosa from falling into the hands of the Donquixote Pirates.

* * *

"Is it settled then?" Akainu crosses his arms. The whole organization has been in flux, because with Sengoku's sudden (though not unexpected) resignation, hardly anything's been done.

Not that Sengoku had did anything. He had allowed the evil to sprout, and to bud and create the so-called 'Great Pirate Age' during his tenure. Sure, Akainu could see how Sengoku had tried to stem the flow, but he was too weak. His actions, while pragmatic, resulted in weaker enforcement against the scoundrels who ruled the seas.

And his nominated successor, a man who skipped work, who allowed the Devil Child to roam everywhere, who let the Straw Hats go after destroying Enies Lobby and bringing the Cipher Pol down to its knees...To let _his_ Marines in the hands of Aokiji was far beyond the line that Akainu was willing to cross.

With him in charge, the Marines would be a disciplined force that could take on a Yonko, and win, no questions asked. They would be able to gain greater controls over the seas, protecting those who needed the Marines. Tradesmen. Civilians. Those who were constantly at the mercies of the buccaneers would benefit from the increase in numbers once the conscription was in place.

And furthermore, the Marines had been stagnating under Sengoku. Sengoku was too weak-willed, too willing to sacrifice large causes for small gains. A wise man had once wrote that 'If an injury has to be done to a man it should be so severe that his vengeance need not be feared'. By being too lenient on people like the Shichibukai Crocodile, the civilians had suffered. But with added controls in place, the Shichibukai would have their actions monitored. No longer shall they behave like kings according to their liking.

Aokiji would not have done so. Aokiji would have sat back and allowed the world to bounce back into another 'Pirate Age'. And Akainu would _never_ allow that to happen. Not in his life time.

"When is our estimated time of arrival?" He asked one of the petty officers currently serving on board the ship.

"O-o-one week's time sir." The petty officer stuttered back, rubbing his sweat away.

Akainu turned his attention back onto the map of the New World. With Marine HQ being moved to the realm of the Four Emperors, there would be more enforcement in the uncharted waters then ever before. The power of the emperors were concentrated there. Should the Marines move to the New World, there was a tactical advantage to be claimed, because they would no longer need to go through Mariejois in order to get the New World. Furthermore, they would be able to choke the four emperors in their strong hold.

Surround the enemy, and thus weaken the lifelines of alcohol and revenue that the emperors could obtain from the Four Blues. Threaten the pirates who blackmailed and cut throats on their way to the top, and scare those who were tempted into piracy to never give it a second glance.

The Marines would no longer be conflicted, like a ship without a rudder. They would have direction, and Akainu would be the one taking the lead in guiding the Marines onto higher ground.

One week's time, they'll be there. At _—_

* * *

"Is that so?" Marco narrows his eyes. "So the guy who got Pops into this mess is there?"

"Yes." Ace nods, breathing deeply as he leans back against the wall. It's a risk that they're taking. But they can't afford to lose anymore time, because right now, Pops' life is in _danger._

But they've got additional help now.

The Moby Dick would be left miles away from the shore, so Ace, Marco, Jozu and Vista, being the most identifiable would be the second distraction. Haruta and Thatch and the other commanders would be the actual ones getting into the base. The rest would be in charge of taking care of whoever who moves too close to where the base, and the attack force by extension are.

Meanwhile, the ones taking on the most risk by being the main distraction are sailing right up to them.

Ace's breath catches in his throat as a ship emerges from the lightning-intensive island just a few nautical miles off. Its sails are colourful and lively, and there is a cartoon mast head, similar to what he had seen before. But this time, the crew's grown bigger, and the ship has grown bigger along with it. There isn't the flag he's familiar with, but Ace thinks that he doesn't need it.

"Ship sailing port side!" He hears someone from the crow nest, and the rest echo as the ship sails alongside the _Moby Dick._ It isn't as large as the flagship of the Whitebeard Pirates. But there was a commotion on board the ship, and a few moments later, Ace could pick out a few figures that he could just about recognize.

One of them takes a leap, dashing across with a flight time too long for it to have been a simple jump. He lands on the railing, standing astride.

"Permission to come aboard?" Oh. _Oh._ Ace's heart freezes when he catches side of Sanji's older self. Though it had only been less than a year since he had seen them in Alabasta, the cook didn't change much in appearance at all, apart from growing a goatee and having his forelocks over his left eyebrow instead of his right.

He doesn't look old. Which means his brother was so _young_ when he became Pirate King. He was _too_ young to have been executed.

"You!" Thatch marches over, pointing a finger at him. "So it's been you who's been possessing my _food_!"

"You should be honoured." Future Sanji raises a haughty brow. "Your food was good enough to possess. Others weren't well prepared to become my vessel." He scoffed back.

"Hey!" Ace hurriedly interrupts, because Thatch's expression is turning ugly, and it's a pointless way to strike up a conversation. "So you're planning to act as our distraction? Thanks man."

"Yeah, Portgas. It's the least we can do, after all." Sanji flips his hand. Then, he slaps his fist against his palm.

"Oi! Get your arses over here! We've got something to say to him!"

Ace knew he had been on that ship, but his memories were blurry about the whole incident, up until he had leapt off the ship to rescue his brother at Marineford. It was as though someone had taken a pair of scissors and disconnected his memories of the situation he had found himself in, because he knows what he remembers of them didn't seem to tally up _somehow_.

One by one, they arrive. First a gust of wind echoes the arrival of the swordsman. Then, the sea waves rush up, forming a female figure that becomes more solid with each passing second. She clutches a staff, but it's been strapped to her hips in segments. She points one of the segments on the deck of the ship, and a fog appears, before growing more and more denser until it forms a familiar elaphine figure. Finally, something steps out of the shadow of Jozu's bulk, lining up against his crewmates, but the outline of him is hazy and unclear as though he doesn't seem to _be_ on the same plane of existence as Ace.

The five that had stood beside Luffy at Alabasta looked at one another, exchanging unspoken words. Then, as one, they bowed.

"Thanks for looking after our troublesome captain!" They're echoing his words. _They're copying what he said._

Ace laughs, because this? This is brilliant. His brother's achieved his dream of being a Pirate King. And his crew was with him all the way.

Then the smile falls off Ace's face, because this confirms, beyond all suspicions, that his brother was a weakened, shadowed copy of himself by the time he joins their ship from whatever future he had been.

The green-haired swordsman disappears, and reappears right next to Ace. He wears a serious expression on his face, but it isn't filled with irritation at being awake and not drunk, but morose with frustration and sorrow.

"I'm sorry that we couldn't look after him up until the end. We couldn't keep that promise." Ace sighs as future Zoro leans back, waiting for his admonitions.

"As if you could keep him from doing whatever he wanted anyway." Because Luffy had been headstrong since _seven,_ and stubborn to a 'D' to boot. "Well what happened to your flag?"

"Well..." Nami waves at the ship. They don't have the Straw Hat Jolly Roger, but instead one that seems ordinary with a lion's mane, with no hint as to who they sail under at all.

What were they playing at?

"We aren't quite the Straw Hat crew anymore." His expression must be clear to them if Nami feels the need to whisper to him. "We're using this one for the moment until we decide what we are going to fly."

"But we won't put another flag. Lu-Goku would be the only captain we will ever have." Zoro interjects. "So don't think that we'll fly Whitebeard's flag. Ever."

"Wasn't counting on it." Thatch looks annoyed at being left out of this conversation. Sensing this, Sanji motions, calling down the rest of the known crew while Nami returns back to their own ship to continue steering.

First the 'Devil Child' Nico Robin, then 'Cyborg' Franky, and then comes someone that was weird even by Ace's New World-shaped standards.

"Good afternoon, gentlemen." A _skeleton._ Seriously, his brother picked out the weird ones alright. "Was this the ship that our captain sailed upon?" He whistles in appreciation. "It's a good ship."

"So you're the king's crew, then?" Marco steps out of his cabin for what seemed like the first time in days. There are deeper bags under his eyes, making them look more sleepy than usual. Ace tries to help of course, but Marco is keeping what he's doing close to his chest.

"Yeah. You've met our cook already, but we've only known Ace."

"You ruined our plans to rescue Ace, then?" Curiel says in a deceptively serious tone.

"Well, we could say that you ruined ours as well." Nico Robin cannily replies, and Curiel barks back a laugh. Ace can tell that Curiel likes them already.

Sanji doesn't make a pass at his ship-sisters (Ace would have knocked him off the ship for that) but is intently discussing how much their captain had eaten while on board their ship.

Zoro, whose wanted posters failed to suggest the eagle-eyed gaze as he surveyed the crew for possible dangers.

Nami, the sweet looking redhead whose scrappiness gives absolutely no quarter, wears a worried expression as she mans the wheel, casting her eyes out towards the sea.

Tiny Chopper rushing into the infirmary in order to see Whitebeard for himself, hardly minding the fact that he's a reindeer, let alone a stranger on board their ship after introducing himself to the crew along the way. The Chopper Ace had known would have been too embarrassed to ask for pointers from the nurses within.

Usopp, who's retreated back to the shadows, telling tall tales to an enraptured audience while keeping an eye out for their ship.

Very loud, overly expressive Franky who alternates between discussing ship-construction related matters with the shipwrights on board and demonstrating the effectiveness of a suplex with extendable arms.

And of course, 'Dead Bones' Brook, formerly 'Humming Swordsman' Brook, also formerly dead, who Ace had remembered as the first one who greeted him after his escape.

 _"Going to deliver Bink's Sake!_  
_Following the sea_ __—_ "_

and had been enough to convince Ace that Impel Down was no longer in sight. A walking, talking, belching and farting _skeleton_. Ace still can't get over that.

"How much time are we going to take?" Dusty asks as he successfully extricates himself from the storytelling.

"One week." Ace replies, smirking as he crosses his arms. The Straw Hat Pirates and Whitebeard Pirates would get along just fine.

"One week until we reach _—"_

**Punk Hazard.**

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A/N: The quote that Akainu is thinking off comes from a famous Italian thinker...who's intelligence didn't win him favours with the fifteenth century family that he was trying to ingratiate himself with. Go figure.
> 
> And up next, the Pirate King's Crew returns to PUNK HAZARD, one year and a half before schedule.  
> And the relevant parties are  
> Jacob:  
> Self-Defense Force  
> Merry  
> Rosinante  
> Law and Heart Pirates (?)
> 
> VS  
> Whitebeard Pirates and Pirate King's Crew and (?)
> 
> VS  
> Akainu  
> Aokiji
> 
> This is going to be an awesome battle.


	20. Snipe

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Three discuss a story about a clam, a snipe and a fisherman. Marco is worried. Merry arrives on Punk Hazard, and comes to a few...revelations.

_Hey, do you know this story about a snipe, a clam and a fisherman?_

_Ooh! A story! Tell me, tell me!_

_Okay! A clam was sitting out in the sun when suddenly a snipe flew down to peck at the clam._

_What's a snipe?_

_It's a bird that's really hard to catch. Anyway, let me continue on with the story.  
_

_Suddenly the clam slammed the shell shut, gripping the snipe's beak in between. The snipe said, "If it doesn't rain today, and it doesn't rain tomorrow, I shall see a dead clam on the beach." The clam said, "If I don't open today, and I don't open up tomorrow, I shall see a dead snipe on the beach." While they were still grappling with each other, a fisherman passed by and netted them both._

_That's short._

_Boring~_

_What you don't get is why the fisherman was able to take the two. If the two hadn't fought, then the fisherman would be unable to get them away._

_In other words, nobody wins unless you work together._

* * *

"His condition is deteriorating." Marco slowly lowered his head into his hands as he pored over the medical reports from the infirmary.

Damn. Thrice _damned._

Marco knew it then, but he was sure of it now. He wasn't fit to be captain. He simply _couldn't._ Marco could support others. He was even able to lead men into battle, to retreat the last in order to protect his ship-brothers.

But Marco just wasn't captain material. He was scared that without Pops, he would be the one to lead them to ruin, to be destroyed by the others gunning for Whitebeard's Emperor position, used as a stepping stone for all of the other pirates. The Whitebeard Pirates were at heart a crew revolving around a captain, and should that centerpiece disappear, Marco knew in his heart that he couldn't replace Whitebeard. None of them could.

But the thought of being the one responsible for breaking the group, for dispersing them...Marco couldn't be the one to do so. Because they were his brothers. Yet if Pops were to die...Marco couldn't form the cornerstone of the Whitebeard Pirates.

The position of temporary captain did not rest easy on him. Each day felt like a struggle, as Ace and the others looked to him for orders. His brothers were _relying_ on him.

Then the Pirate King's Crew had given them their heading, and now they were, two days away from a Marine base. Every instinct in Marco was screaming at him, telling him to get away, that it's not worth leading the Whitebeard Pirates into a death trap. But the bastard who had cursed Pops into a neverending sleep...anger swept over his face as he recalled how despondent his ship-sisters had looked when they related how Pops' body was breaking down from the stress that a combination of nightmares and some unknown concoction had given him...

This upcoming battle was an outlet for them all. And Marco knew that this was only a distraction from their original goal. But he needed something to ground himself. And if it was hope that Pops could get better, then why not?

It could be false. It could even be that he was being overly-optimistic. Marco was too afraid to be the new captain.

"Three days to Punk Hazard." He took a glance at the logbook, opened up to one of their earlier journeys, when their crew was still small, and all of them were hale and hearty.

_Marco! Bring some booze!_

_Hell no! You're still recovering from that battle!_ Marco had shouted back, frustrated at the obstinacy of his new captain. _Doctor's orders, three weeks!_

_Captain's orders override doctor's!_ And before Marco could stop him, Edward Newgate had taken a casket and opened it, sharing it between him, Jozu, Thatch, Vista and Blamenco. Marco had sighed, before taking part in sharing their ill-gotten goods.

Marco smirked at the reminder. The doctor in question had whacked him in the face after sniffing him. And Vista had made things worse by causing flowers to scatter and making Jozu sneeze, throwing himself through a wall. Blamenco, high on the thirty mugs that would have caused an ordinary man to be poisoned by alcohol, had proceeded to wreck things even further by taking out his trusty mallet and attempting to whack the doctor in the face, only to hit Thatch instead.

In the end, all of them had to make a run for it as the bartender, wielding a Molotov cocktail and a large amount of gunpowder proceeded to explode. _Literally._ Fun days.

Marco somehow missed them. Oh, he did love the fact that their family had grown larger without increasing the distance between each member. And that they had become an infamous crew in the Grand Line, enough to be considered a threat to the World Government. But at the same time, had they painted a huge target on themselves by becoming so notorious?

Can it, Marco. You're overthinking it here.

With that, Marco sighed, flipping back to the log book where he was keeping track of where they were. He shouldn't keep his mind on depressing topics like that.

He had work to do.

* * *

"Well, here we are." Merry spoke out as she turned towards the deserted isle. While it didn't have the half frozen, half molten landscape that her captain had spoken of, it was still desolated, with negligible amounts of vegetation and ruins of the old fishing village that had once existed.

"I must be insane for agreeing to this." Trafalgar Law muttered, even as he called for his crew to prepare to sail away. "Cora-san?"

"Thanks, Law." Ro embraced his kid. "We will make it back. Promise."

"If you don't come back, this island won't even be left on the seas." Law lost his smirk. "You better keep your promise. Merry, I'll be within a few hours sailing distance, but avoid the areas where the damn Admirals are present. Why is the SDF base here anyway?"

"It's an abandoned Marine base which is 'unloggable'." Merry returned in a deadpan voice. "I'm not surprised, seeing that the Self-Defense Force is an unlicensed vigilante group with a name for raiding slave ships—"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever." Law waved his hand in a dismissive gesture. "Guess I'll get going." But he was still entwined in Ro's hug. Merry groaned, as Law tried to peel himself away and only managed to succeed in causing Ro to tighten his grasp. "Cora-san, let go!"

"Not until you promise me not to attack the Marines here."

"Cora-san!"

"Law."

"Oh fine!" Law huffed. "I won't go after the Marines!" Ro let go of him, and Law gave a momentary soft smile.

"See you, Cora-san, Merry. Hope you don't get caught." He walked back onto his ship, leaving the two on shore. Merry stared off into the distance, remembering another retreating figure who had been a bit taller, dressed in different clothes...and was willing to do anything for his precious people. _After all these years, he's still the same._

"...He's a good kid." Merry muttered under her breath.

"I know."

"But he'll do anything for you."

" _I know._ " Ro shook his head. "He's still going after Doffy, you know? Says that since I can't pull the trigger, he'll be the one to do it."

"Can you?" Merry replied, glancing Law's retreating ship. "Can you kill your brother?" Ro didn't reply at first, only opening and closing his palms in a strange manner.

"...I don't know." Ro's voice was hesitant. "He's right when he said that I resembled our poor father. Back on Minion Island, I couldn't shoot him even at the risk of dying myself."

"You probably won't be able to escape had you done so." Merry wrapped an arm around him. "If I recall correctly, his men were there along with him. They would never have left you alive if they had seen their 'young master' being shot." Merry couldn't understand it. Sure, Ro's bastard brother had a great deal of charisma. However, even as she was a couple of meters away, Ro could practically see 'narcissistic megalomaniac' written all over the overbearing bastard that was wrapped in human flesh. Even if he did call himself human, there was no empathy in him. He didn't care for his subordinates the way her captain had.

"Right." Even if Ro was more vocal now, he tended to lapse into silence whenever he was reminded of his brother. Or anything that reminded him of that incident eleven years ago. Not much of a shock, if you think about it. Merry obliged, filling the silence by talking about the island.

"This whole area used to be full of vegetation. Two years ago, there was a gigantic explosion caused by one of Dr. Vegapunk's scientists. While they managed to evacuate the researchers and soldiers here, the prisoners who served as test subjects were left behind. Punk Hazard was thus closed off. The scientist in question, a gas logia named Caesar Clown had been imprisoned for building the gas weapon which had caused the explosion in the first place."

"However, one year back, Caesar had escaped and returned here, supposedly purifying the gas on this island. However, the poisonous gas was instead combined with a Zoan Devil Fruit and locked somewhere on this island. He then recruited some of the surviving prisoners on this island, and assisted in giving them artificial limbs. In return, he has a loyal crew willing to serve him."

"The ones that we're going after would be the kids on this island. Caesar took some kids to this island, claiming that they had a disease that he's going to cure. In actual fact, he's experimenting on them, trying to make them into giants for the military."

"Sengoku would never agree to that." Ro hissed out.

"Exactly. But he thinks Akainu shares the same mentality. At the same time, those kids would never lead normal lives even if the experiment turned out successful. Ah, there they are."

Two figures had caught up to them, and were dressed in the standard Self-Defense Force attire of a white jacket-coat and a dark uniform under it. Merry grimanced as she stared at the two which had come to greet her. _Of course these were the two that Jacob had picked out._

"Ro, this is Kitsuen—" She pointed to the broad-chested, cross-armed figure on the left, "And Sniper of the Self-Defense Force. Kitsuen, Sniper, this is my employee Ro."

"Pleasure." Kitsuen took a huff of cigar smoke. Ro winced, stepping further away from him.

"Nice to meet you!" Sniper, who appeared to be a dark-haired swordswoman smiled as she shook Ro's hand. "You've brought him up to task? Thanks!"

"It's good to see you." Merry answered, glaring at the cigar smoker. "It's bad for your lungs, don't you know that?"

"Not as if I have anything to worry about." Kitsuen replied. "That 'Surgeon of Death'? Where is he?"

"He's a few hours off from here." Ro answered, staring back at Kitsuen with a slight bit of intimidated awe. "He says that he's not landing on an island where two Marine Admirals are having a pissing contest."

"Is that so?" Sniper pushed back her rectangular glasses, frowned in thought. "That's an annoyance. We hope that you could enlist his help as well."

"Not to worry." Merry replied, pasting a courteous smile on her face. "I'm a trained doctor as well, you know?" Not to mention that she had _taught_ Law.

"So you are. Hmph." Kitsuen snorted a smokey breath. "We have close to fifty men under our charge. Merry, you're in charge of actually treating the children and thus put on standby. Ta-Sniper and I would be targeting the possible assailants."

"Possible assailants? What do you mean?" Merry asked. She had thought that there were only Caesar's soldiers, the Marine Admirals (who would be more focused on aforementioned pissing contest) and Caesar himself to worry about.

"The Whitebeard Pirates would also be attacking Akainu in revenge for Newgate's death." Sniper replied. "It seems as though some of their crew would be arriving here as well for the invading force. "

"Whitebeard Crew?!" Merry froze. "Jacob didn't tell any of that to me!" Whitebeard crew, the one that her captain had been on...Her captain had died. And last she heard, the Pirate King's Crew had taken her captain from Marineford. Which meant that they were there when her captain had died. And his last known whereabouts. Judging by the camaraderie between the Whitebeard Pirate remnants in her time and the Pirate King's Crew...

That cunning and manipulative bastard!

"Kitsuen, Sniper." Merry felt her mouth tightening as her teeth clenched. "I believe that you weren't aware of some ... _pertinent_ details."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was quite surprised (and delighted) when I researched the story first mentioned in this chapter. In my mind, I had always associated the story with a crane, but it's actually a snipe. 
> 
> If we translate the word 'snipe' to Japanese, well, it's pretty clear who the swordswoman is. Along with her companion.


	21. Extra: A Summary of the Latest Events

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> On request by OnePieceDoesExist from FFNet, it's a summary of the last twenty chapters of 'Curse' done by as yet unseen character. Of course, foreshadowing is commonplace, so look out for spoilers!

Time travel chaos? Due to the world falling into chaos, (With the Pirate King's Crew we all know and love dead) Luffy and a group of twenty go back in time in order to change their past. However, being complete neophytes at this time travel thing, they've gone back fifty years too early. Uh oh!

Fifty years after this incident, and several years before they took the trip back in time, Luffy reappears, this time on board the Moby Dick. Hiding his name, he stays aboard the ship for a few months, and ends changing things. Saving Thatch for one, and restoring one of his guardians memory whilst en route to Marineford for another.

It looks like his original crew's back! The Pirate King's Crew comes back in time as well, and they're a bit confused about the whole matter. Namely their captain having a guilt complex the size of Reverse Mountain for one, and moping on board for another. As their swordsmen puts it, that doesn't sound like their captain at all.

Marineford. Tut tut tut. It becomes more chaotic than it originally is. Luffy, or Goku as they know him, warns them in advance as to how they had prepared the battle in this time. The Whitebeard Pirates go into battle thinking they've got this situation handled. But as they arrive, the main participant of this battle, one Portgas D. Ace isn't here? Where is that hot-blooded no-good brat?

Meanwhile, another group appears. It's this time Luffy to the rescue! Or perhaps not, because an outlying ship discovers their whereabouts. Lucky for them, it's the Revolutionary Army, and furthermore, Luffy's long lost brother Sabo returns to the ship.

But what's this? Sabo doesn't know Luffy? No matter, Luffy can fix the problem by pulling out…a bounty poster. Great job, Luffy, way to make a brother worried. Sabo faints, and another outlying ship comes across them. But what's this? It's an enemy! The Marines capture the ship, and while the other prisoners flee, Luffy and the members of the Revolutionary Army on board get captured.

Hooray for the Marines! They've got another famous prisoner to execute! Though it isn't the one they were looking for, no matter, because Straw Hat had declared war on the World Government and burnt their flag! Good for them…

Or not. Just in the knick of time, the star of the show reappears! Ace comes barging in, rescuing his 'stupid little crybaby brother' as he puts it, and destroys the execution platform. Home free! Luffy is still a person who can't read the atmosphere, and unexpectedly falls asleep. Boo~! Admiral Akainu dashes along to kill the two no-good brats, but another no-good brat reappears! Yes, it's Sabo, with full possession of the memory. The ASL brothers have reunited! Go home boys, nothing to see here!

And Akainu turns his attention to Public Enemy Number One, aka Edward Newgate himself. Boy, isn't our hothead Fire Fist pissed off now!

And time for our troll! Blackbeard, fresh with convicts from Level 6 arrives at Marineford. He's a bit confused as to Ace's continued survival, but no worries, he's got this situation handled! He turns to Ace, ready for round two of their battle.

However, let's not forget the time travelling Pirate King himself! Future Luffy lands a blow on him, because like hell he's going to let this happen again! Hey wait a second, Admiral Kizaru's just about snuck on him! Luckily, Luffy has learnt something over the years and swats the light user to the blackhole. Take that, physics!

Oi! Whitebeard is struck clean through by Akainu, who's definitely not involved in the ongoing melee there. Whitebeard tells him that no, he's going to die on Marineford. To future Luffy, that's not going to happen. He knocks Whitebeard out with a single blast, and protects their retreat. Some members of the Warlords help out as well, most notably Hancock and Jinbe.

And here comes the Pirate King's Crew! Luffy once again proves his straight forward attitude…by asking if future people poop. Luffy, please observe the situation. You are being protected by him. You do not ask the poor swordsman if he defecates.

Coby calls a halt to this battle, but the fun's just starting, Coby! Akainu attacks the boy, but another stops him! It's Red-haired Shanks, here to save the day!

…The Pirate King's Crew once again sows havoc and creates chaos. With the song 'We Go!' playing in the background, the crossfire between our moss-head and perverted cook causes most of those who hasn't already fallen to Ace's earlier Conquerer's Haki in the background. Future Sanji's firey passion ignites…only the actions of a level-headed Nami causes him to fly into a crowd of Marines. Strike! Akainu tries to go for another round, but what's this? A turned back? The king of snipers seizes the opportunity and strikes him while he's down. Go Usopp! Anyway, future Luffy's rescued, the Whitebeard Pirates are long gone, and it's time for a party! Hooray Straw Hat!

Future Luffy awakens on board the ship. His anxious but delighted crew members greet him, and he retells his own story. Looks like the Marines went after the Isle of Women. And Fishmen Island. And Alabasta and Drum Kingdom together. That was what had led him to craft a 'path' through time in which he and his new companions went through.

Turns out, what Luffy means by destroying his island meant 'eating everything that was in sight'. Typical Roger. Typical Luffy as well. The Straw Hats grin good naturedly, because their captain is still the same old person after all!...But what's this? Their captain can't eat anything? How come? Why? The captain throws the gloves he's been wearing this whole time onto the deck as someone arrives. Future Luffy tries to allay their worries with a smile, but unexpectedly bursts into water.

On board the Moby Dick, the Whitebeard Pirates stare. And stare, because their Second Division Commander's self-proclaimed brother is devouring food at an unprecedented rate. In the meantime, Ace's arguing with Sabo about who rescues who. All three of their dads suck by the way. But that momentary peace shatters as the Blackbeard Pirates sail towards them, intent on finishing the job that Marineford had done on them.

Future Luffy reappears once more, this time to protect the family that's so close to his heart now. He's working on a time limit however, so he's got to finish this fast. He takes out most of Blackbeard's original crew, but is caught from behind by Shiliew of the Rain. Blackbeard manages to entrap him within the powers of his Devil Fruit, and Luffy reflects on what relationships he had made, both in his past, and after his time trip.

Being alone was more painful than being hurt. But Luffy wasn't alone in the end. And he smiles as he draws his last breath.

Ace's heart is filled with regret, but at the same time he realizes how much value his life had. He was born on this world for a purpose after all. That fills him with hope. He exchanges Sakazuki once more with his brothers as Marco looks on.

The trio are visited by Dark King Rayleigh who swims from Sabaody and reaches the Whitebeard Pirates. What a tough guy indeed. They decide to make their way back towards Marineford, in order to give the message to Luffy's crew. While dining and dashing, and ringing the Ox Bell, Garp catches them. The trio frantically screeched (Ace would later go on to say that he had not done so. So had Sabo. Luffy was quite happy to acknowledge the fact that he had panicked upon seeing his grandfather, and who would not have done so?)

Marco comes to a realization that the Whitebeard Pirates have to grow stronger, because Marineford, Blackbeard and Goku has shown that their world would become stronger than ever. A curious message has appeared, and Raftel reappears on maps once more. But there isn't any such island? The big news of Ace's parentage is overshadowed by the ripples that the death announcement of future Luffy, not that they know that Goku is from the future of course. (Or is it?)

In the meantime, Shirahoshi's come to a decision. She isn't the scaredy cat of a Mermaid Princess after all this time! She has work to do! And she's going to train harder and harder! So that she would be able to protect her beloved Luffy-sama once more! You go girl! She makes her debut into society, but what's this? That bastard captain of the Flying Dutchman, Vander Decken IX is here! Luckily, future Luffy's removed his mark, so the axe he throws after being rejected by her misses her completely. While in shock, he's arrested. Hooray for Shirahoshi!

We now turn our eyes towards Sabaody Archipelago. There's a quaint little bar run by the proprietor, Merry, and her employee, Ro, someone we all know but I'm not telling. Garp had destroyed Merry's bar a few years earlier, but Merry's got a soft spot for the old man alright, so that's okay. Come after hours instead, Garp! So Garp decides to take his friend out after the utter disaster that is Ace and Luffy's botched execution (not that he minds it much anyway) and Sengoku comes out of it a lot happier when he entered. Enough not to scold Garp for two hours when he finds out how the three miscreants had created havoc in Marineford with Garp 'unable' to stop them.

But what's this? It turns out that Bartholomew Kuma isn't brain dead after all! Why? He doesn't know, and he's not going to leak out the locations of his comrades to them, but at the same time there's no way Vegapunk's able to cover for him. So he turns to Merry, who he's met before and is popular enough with the Marines not to arouse suspicion. But Jacob of the Self Defense Force, part-time writer and general busybody happens to be there as well. He tries to lure Merry to the dark side, aka the Self-Defense Force, but Merry tells him no~. Jacob is still of the belief that Kuma's a Pacifista, but both he and Kuma himself learns that it was not the case, because of Merry's interference. Kuma receives an elucidation, and you came to see that Merry's one of the twenty companions as well.

Hancock fetches her boyfriend and the old geezer, and Ace tries to reconcile the fact that the arrogant and rude Warlord happens to be Luffy's lover. Which Luffy hasn't denied, but is painfully oblivious to the attention that Hancock's paying him. Boy, would this be a mess later on. As Luffy leaves, Ace is reminded of future Luffy once more, but someone else on board realizes this same fact for the first time. I wonder who is it?

Future Zoro's trying to interrogate Shirahoshi, because not only is she powerful, she's the most likely of what he knows to be their ally to survive as well. In the end, he lets go of the Luffy plush toy and Shirahoshi lets slip the fact that the twenty companions are going to stick to twenty separate captains, none of which are Luffy. Zoro, satisfied with this investigation, leaves.

Garp returns from celebrating his grandsons' continued survival on Dawn Island, and stops by at Arabasta for food, because he's managed to eat all of their supplies. While Helmeppo tries to pick up a girl (and is forced to share later on that he was slapped on the face for his poor pick-up lines), Coby tries to flirt with a girl by telling her stories of Luffy. Who knew that the girl happened to be the Princess of Alabasta, right? Coby learns the truth of Alabasta, and decides to seek out Garp for extra training.

Coby. That is remarkably foolish. I applaud you for your daring, but Garp had punched out eight mountains for training. And you want to ask him for extra training?

Here comes a tale of someone receiving training as well! Luffy, tired out from practicing Conquerer's Haki against giant over-sized animals dreams, and future Robin reveals that the timestream is going astray, and what seemed like complicated events in their past is being warped further and further by their actions. Uh oh, Goku, you've got some explaining to do. Or not, it looks like something is pushing things back to their original position.

Luffy wakes up, and gets chased all over the island as he is reminded by the various landmarks on what his crew mates would have done if they were in his situation. It's nice to think of who you're fighting for.

Thatch is preparing some food. The last time round, his ramen had came alive. This time, it's egg noodles. Egg noodles and dumplings and braised meat…and head. An animated head sticking out of the noodles.

Oh come on! Thatch thinks to himself, bristling. The last time round, Marco had thrown the bowl of noodles down the toilet. There's no way he's wasting this batch of noodles now! And with Marco's help, he threatenes the 'God of Food' into remaining long enough such that he could carry it to the infirmary where the rest of the commanders have gathered, and they interrogate the bowl of noodles.

It's revealed that all of the twenty possess some kind of unique power. However, other than the Pirate King's Crew, there are two other players at work, and they're trying to choose the candidates by limiting the access that any pirate could have towards the companions. Now that's what I call cheating. The Self-Defense Force is making headway by having some already on their side, but the Revolutionary Army's not far behind by managing to isolate two…Wait wait wait, not in the story yet, not supposed to tell the reader yet! Keep this a secret between us, won't you, dearest readers?

The God of Food, aka the Pirate King's cook learns of his captain's recent whereabouts. Viva mermaids! But no, it looks like the swordsman's ahead of him, and he vanishes in between the depths of the noodles while holding an invisible argument with said swordsman. Thatch thinks that they've got more questions than answers now.

Back in the bar, Ro finds out that he's got a new colleague, and he isn't exactly happy with the news. But he tries to engage the guy in conversation, because it's really awkward even when you don't like talking. Along the way, he gently tears Kuma out of his shell, and causes the backroom wall to be accidentally destroyed. Whoops.

Somewhere in the New World, Crocodile finds out that his powers aren't working at all. Seriously, it's like someone's interfering with his powers. Enough for his right hand to reform itself after years of stubbornly refusing to.

Drums roll please. It's Miss Wednesday! The princess of Arabasta who's swearing that there's no way that she'll ever nominate him to be her king, and she'll block any attempts at mass-slaughter, thieving and raping…the usual pirate spiel. In pure spite, she swaps his hand back, but Crocodile didn't head Baroque Works just because of his powers alone. He figures out that even as his Devil Fruit was turns him into a sand man, that's not all his powers are restricted too, and successfully turns his hand back. Miss Wednesday reluctantly tells him about what had happened to the world at large.

It looks like someone is plotting again! Jacob reveals himself to Newgate, and has trapped him within a nightmare. Screw the Fleet Admiral, because causing a man be trapped in a place where he's alone, especially one who values his family like Whitebeard…that's ultimate jerk face right there. Control freak. Asshole.

Fortunately, the Whitebeard Pirates have got a way of contacting the Straw Hat Pirates, because Jacob has left them a note. How convenient. Future Sanji, due to long hours spent in the kitchen, has a more sensitive nose when it comes to processed goods, and thus can make out who had caused this.

The Pirate King's Crew hold a discussion on board their ship, and it looks that the base is Punk Hazard people! Would you look at that? One and a half years in advance!

It's a typical busy Friday night, and Ro's triggered, but that's okay, because Merry's there. However, a new problem has arose. Asshole Jacob strikes once more, this time threatening to make the children on Punk Hazard sicker than they really are. Merry really doesn't want to do this, but she doesn't think that she's got a choice, because both a bartender and a doctor have one thing in common other than privacy—they're people who care for those that they serve.

Ro knows one doctor that would be happy to help them, however.

It's been half a year since Marineford, and the Marines have been stagnating. Akainu is pissed off, because frankly, he knows that Sengoku's too weak. As Machiavelli once puts it, strike your opponents with overwhelming force, and what Sengoku did was to let some go, and persecute others lightly. The Marines aren't a viable threat, but Akainu would change that, because once he becomes the Fleet Admiral, he's going to choke the livelihood of the New World Pirates, starting with the Four Emperors. But first, he's got a showdown with his other Admiral, Aokiji. At Punk Hazard.

Because sharing is caring and all of that, the Pirate King's Crew agreed to join forces with the Whitebeard Pirates. While the Pirate King's Crew and the more well-known members of the Whitebeard Pirates such as Marco, Ace, Jozu and Vista would be distracting the two fighting Admirals, Haruta, Thatch and future Sanji would be heading towards the abandoned base where the Self-Defense Force is suspected to be held at.

Marco knows that they're walking into a trap, but anything's better than facing the fact that he might be the next captain. He doesn't want to, but he feels pressured to do so.

Merry and Ro have arrived on Punk Hazard, hitchhiking with the Heart Pirates. The Surgeon of Death is shown to be extremely protective of his guardian, so Ro makes him promise that he won't destroy the island. They hug, before Law tells him that he's going to wait offshore, because no way is he sticking around even to watch a pissing contest between two Admirals.

The two meet the dynamic duo of Kitsuen, a broad-chested chain smoker, and Sniper, a dark-haired swordswoman with glasses. I guess you all know who those two are, I mean, it's painfully obvious that no battle on Punk Hazard's going to leave the two of them out, right? Merry puts the pieces together and comes to a realization that Jacob's been playing them all for a fool. Setting the Whitebeard Pirates up against them, it's evident that either the Whitebeard Pirates and the Pirate King's Crew are beaten to a men, which is highly unlikely, or she, Ro, Kitsuen and Sniper are killed.

Taking down at least one guardian of Raftel, and thus preventing another Pirate King from being found. Merry could applaud that if she wasn't the one who Jacob tried to kill.

_Who am I? Hmm, that's an interesting question. Breaking the fourth wall hasn't been one of my talents, but it's better to start later than never after all. And I won't be appearing here just yet, because the Revolutionary Army hasn't gathered all of its members right now, and unlike the twenty guardians, the Pirate King's Crew, or the Self-Defense Force, we're a bit less showy._

_Luffy's my amigo, capiche? And it would really make us all sad if such a valuable soul were to be wasted due to the actions of the two other powers. If they're changing things so much, then what's the point of going to the past then? It's better to keep things straight right up until a pivotal event before changing stuff around._

_One thing's for sure though. Luffy and I would have the last laugh in the end. Because that's the way the Pirate King rolls._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Who is the speaker? Well what clues have you derived from this spiel? Reply in your review! Also, Punk Hazard is delayed further as I try to settle who's where. It'll be a bit easier to split into parts, so I'll upload Part 2: Clam (Letting Chapter 20 be Part 1: Snipe) by Friday 19 February. Part 3: Fisherman would be found sometime next week.  
> Edit: And it looks like that didn't happen at all. I've got a conclusion written up, but the body is still a trouble.


	22. Mistakes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> "Ace you idiot." Phoenix Marco groaned. "Now what?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hint: there's something in common between Future Luffy, Jacob and our speaker here. But the person that you're thinking off may not be alive in the first place. Who knows? Mind Screw!
> 
> And to those who are still wondering who 'Ro' is, well, we will find out in this chapter.

"Deluded deity."

"Pompadour head."

"Swirly eyebrow." Haruta hid a groan of pure dismay. This was getting ridiculous.

The majority of their ship-brothers were currently heading straight towards the entrance of the Self-Defense Force base located at the side of the island where Aokiji was currently freezing the area. Meanwhile, Haruta was stuck with Thatch and the Pirate King's Cook

Haruta didn't mind the additional firepower that the cook had brought, especially given his abilities to communicate across food. That was useful, especially since they couldn't risk being overheard by the two admirals. The cook's _personality_ on the other hand was terrible.

"Bastard who can't leave my food alone." Thatch had already bore a grudge against him the size of _Moby Dick_ as it turns out. Apparently, having thrown away a bowl of noodles that he had prepared with loving care was enough to rile Thatch up. And the cook didn't really help matters by insulting him from the get-go.

So here they were, one biting back insults, one crossing his arms, and Haruta could only wish that Izo or Jozu or even _Marco_ was here. At least there would be someone to talk to peacefully.

"You know, he didn't eat much." Wait wait wait, how did the conversation turn to this? Haruta had been tuning them out, but it looks like something was said earlier that had provoked Thatch into saying something about not eating much. Haruta turned back to find a sad smile that had crossed Thatch's face.

"He couldn't have done so." The cook said in commiseration. "He told us that because of a deal he's made, he wasn't mortal anymore."

"The only time he had a big feast, was when he was boarding a ship. According to the Second Division, he had knocked out everyone on board, and while they were searching for provisions, they couldn't find anything there. Ace's second-in-command later reported that Goku had denied pilfering the stock, but he could still see traces of food around his mouth."

"Oh that would be him alright." A smirk crept over his face, antagonism long gone. "He used to steal from everyone's plates while at mealtimes. I had to put a lock on the fridge just to prevent him from stealing."

"Is that so? Sounds like our Ace." Haruta snorted out. Too true, the Second Division Commander had gulped down a meal normally served to people of Pop's size in less than ten minutes, showing off an impressive stomach and appalling table manners even for pirates. Where did he learn that kind of dining etiquette from, bandits?

"Of course, everyone else knew the passwords. The trick to getting him full was to give him loads of protein powder, and slow his eating rate down by offering him loads of dipping sauces. Even with his speed, he had to reach in order to dip the foods." A harsh laugh broke out. "We used to say that there was no end to Lu—our captain's hunger, so what I did was to provide the girls snacks. Naturally, he would go for a share, but there was always a little extra of what he liked, which was meat in all forms. And I would never let my captain go hungry."

"Hmm?" There seems to be something unsaid in between them, but Haruta couldn't understand the uneasy premonition she was having in her stomach. Instead, the conversation ended as abruptly as it began, with the cook resuming his position at their back.

"There's something there." The cook gazed into the distance, where a green blip was getting larger and larger. In fact, it was almost visible now that the haze created by the rapid changes in temperature had moved away.

In fact, it was a fat, serpentine object, one that Haruta could barely make out. Sanji made a quiet utterance, quirking an eyebrow.

"What did you catch sight of?" A great rumble that shook the trees around it made the answer clear.

This was one fine creature. Created from splicing dinosaurs of Little Garden, the Bananadiles that called the desert kingdom of Alabasta home, as well as Sea Kings, it was a sight to behold. Furthermore, it was the recreation of the boyhood dream of one scientist, and was the ultimate manly formation of fairy tales and reality.

Pity the fact that it was a man-eating dragon of course.

"Oh, it's you again." And Sanji, their main guide, was treating this sight calmly. As though it was normal that this uninhabited, deserted base had living lifeforms that were comparable to the size of galleons or ships of the line, let alone that thing that was flying at an incredible speed towards them.

"Have you lost your mind? That thing is _dangerous!_ " Haruta screamed at the insane 'God of Food' as he got ready…a pair of knives. And mayonnaise. "It's not food!"

"Of course it can be…Wait a minute, that's not the point right now." Thatch pointed towards the dragon. "Doesn't it look like it's…flying away from something?"

"Huh?" Haruta squinted her eyes. "What are you talking about…Shit shit let's get our arses out of here _fast."_

Because the expression that the dragon wore was not determined and focused on its delicious looking prey. Instead, it looked alarmed, with desperation and outright panic written all over its snout.

Without a word, it fled past them, as though they had barely even appeared on its radar. And no wonder, as all three gazed on the monster, no, the terror of Punk Hazard.

"Grrr…Grrrowgh!" The purple axolotl continued its steady movement, eyes focused on the dragon right in front of them. Then, it abruptly focused on them.

"Shit, we're seen as a good replacement." Thatch hissed.

"Okay. _Now_ we _have_ to start running." Sanji started to chase after the dragon, but by now the dragon was miles ahead of them. Thatch and Haruta followed, but both had long since realized that the effort was useless, as the dragon was way ahead of them.

"It's no use! We can't catch up with it." Thatch breathed out heavily, banging against his chest.

"Of course we can." Sanji snarled back. "Now think! Think of…boobs!"

"…What?" Haruta arched an eyebrow. "How does that help?"

"Boobs. I remember, back when I was in this exact same position." Sanji breathed out. "Back when all hope was lost…I simply opened up my jacket…" he gripped the area under his chest.

"NAMI-SWAN!" He screamed out as he raced ahead at a speed that was unreachable by mere mortals.

" _What kind of perverted power-up is that!"_ Thatch roared. This was insane. This was just _insanity_ at its very highest. How had this guy become a member of a crew?!

"Shut up! I'm a spirit fired up by passion." Sanji retorted as he madly dashed towards the fleeing dragon. With one burst of flame, the dragon was startled, slowing down its desperate flight for safety for just one second.

One second was just enough for Thatch and Haruta to get on the dragon's back. It was also enough for the creature to increase its lead towards them.

"Fly faster!" Haruta banged her fists against the spine of the creature they were relying on contract. The dragon let loose a moan, as though it was complaining against its fate. First some tasty prey fighting back; then more tasty prey causing its elder brother to injure itself. Finally, a dangerous _thing_ had opted for it to be _its own prey._

Today was not a lucky day for this dragon. Unfortunately for the creature, it seemed that its unwelcome riders were less than sympathetic to its predicament.

"Gah! It's gaining on us!" Sanji cried as he fired shot after shot of flames. Not only did he have two sword users, who weren't exactly the best at long-range fighting, he was running out of stamina to fire the next few shots as well.

Smiley appeared to disperse every single blow, growling the same as the three raced away from him.

"We've got to get to the Marine Base." Sanji bit out. "It's our only way out of this."

 _Who the hell released him anyway? Caesar only started promoting the poison gas weapon when we and Trafalgar Law were present. What changed?_ Sanji thought to himself as he continued to send one _Diable Jambe_ after another.

* * *

_A few hours ago…_

"Smo-Kitsuen, how long have you been on this island?"Merry's bad temper was still evident in the curt tone towards the representatives of the Self-Defense Force. Not that Sniper could be angry at her for that. Allying with someone whom you were enemies with was always disheartening at the best of times, and coming to blows at a crucial time like this wasn't the best idea either.

"Approximately two years. Admiral Kuzan and Akainu are both having their battle to decide the next fleet admiral, so they would be tied up. Caesar's guards are currently reliant on the balloons that he had created, so they would be no issue for us as of now." Sniper replied for the leader of their expedition, pushing up her glasses.

"Furthermore, the two Admirals are still on the other side of the island. In the western area which we know as the Ice Lands is Caesar's base where he's kept the children. In the eastern area to be called the Burning Lands would be our outpost where our own men are located. There's a tunnel from Caesar's laboratory that heads straight to the abandoned dock, so we created a branch leading to the military base where our men primarily are.

"Whitebeard Pirates would probably be attacking the Self-Defense Force Base, so tell your men to avoid that area."

"Can't. We're protecting one of the keys to Raftel there." This made Merry stop short.

"What?" She combed her hair back. " _Who?"_

"That's classified." Merry angrily slapped him, flesh emanating a loud ' _thwack_ ' as she flicked her callused palm against his face. Kitsuen continued to maintain an indifferent expression even as he withstood the blow. Sniper wanted to move, to defend her boss. But Merry appeared to be on a roll, and she was reluctant to speak for what she personally felt was a stupid policy in the first place.

" _I don't care if it's classified._ I am a member of the twenty companions who ventured through time and space together with the Pirate King. I was the soundboard, the one who _listened."_ She started to rush forward.

"That's why Vice Admiral, sorry, Kitsuen tried to hide it in the safest place that he could find." Sniper hastily interjected. "The Self-Defense Force is _secure!_ "

"That's what most people had said about Enies Lobby. Or _Mariejois_." The two went silent at that.

Merry was now shadowed in darkness, but her eyes continued to glint like those of a cat.

"'Wherever the Pirate King's Crew goes, destruction will follow.'" Merry hissed out. "And not only do we have the Pirate King's Crew, we have an Emperor's Crew as well. Jacob set us up, and plan to use the Whitebeard Pirates to level the abandoned military base and eliminate the possibility of another Pirate King, which is directly against what my captain wants."

"Is it wrong to want such a thing?"Kitsuen countered. "It's not as if Straw Hat had wanted to be _that_ sort of king in the first place."

"It's still necessary to have a king. The 'Throne Wars' will start sooner or later, so what captain wants is to make sure that fewer lives are lost while doing so!"

"Would that necessary be the case? No matter what happens, there would always be the possibility of more deaths than before."

"It's better than remaining in a world torn apart by the three parties!" Merry snarled. "I believe that our captain's plan will succeed!

"..."

"..."

"...That sounds wrong even _now_." Kitsuen's eyes were half-lidded as he spoke in a disbelieving tone. " _Him_ with a plan that does not involve punching someone's lights out?"

Merry huffed. "Well, maybe _some_ bits weren't that well thought through..."

"Umm...let's get off this topic then?" Sniper hastily spoke, eager to stop the argument while the momentum was still there."

"Fine. So are you with me to save the children or not?"

Sniper breathed a sigh of relief. Merry hadn't held it against them. She was still on their side at this crucial moment.

"Of course we will." Kitsuen growled out. "We'll split up. Sniper will take care of the secretary while the rigged explosives that my men have set up will distract Caesar. Merry, you have the antidote, right?"

"Of course I did." Merry grumbled. "I'm not foolish enough to think that things haven't changed at all, so use this." She tossed something to Kitsuen.

"What is it?" Sniper tried to see what the object was, but as soon as it landed in Kitsuen's hand, it was quickly hidden away in one of Kitsuen's cigar-laden pockets.

"Something in case of an emergency." Merry answered as she continued to head towards the Biscuit Room. "Hurry up, won't you?"

Sniper, despite herself, gave a grin. Merry was still the reliable bartender friendly to both parties even after the tragedy at Dawn Island had struck. Hopefully they would still be able to hang out at _Merry's Bar_ after this disaster of an operation.

* * *

"Danger alert!" Bakezo screamed out. Their cool boss had told them to stay put and watch. If the beacon went off, then that meant that the sole female of their testerone-filled base was in danger. If strobe lights flashing in an emergency pattern, then their commodore required their aid.

Well, they didn't say anything if flames were to appear though…Bakezo knew in his heart that they were technically not supposed to be acting as support while the big Fleet Admiral deciding battle was being fought. But their female captain had such beautiful sad eyes that he and the rest of Unit One had no choice but to assent to her pleas. The fact that their commander had mentioned not to say anything to the current G-5 base commander as well was a tiny bit suspicious, but then again, sparkling dewy eyes.

Bakezo was so weak to those.

_Bakezo's vision_

_"Oh soldier." Their lovely female lieutenant cried out. "We have to rescue those children!"_

_Bakezo's stomach didn't only possess butterflies. It had moths and bees buzzing around his brain, making him feel woozy, while his heart seemed to be lit up like a stake._

_"OF COURSE I WILL!" He cried out._

_End Bakezo's vision_

That woman was enough to make a man go mad for a wink!

"Now tell us, where the hell is your leader!" Fire Fist Ace was there. So was Phoenix Marco. So was Diamond Jozu.

Bakezo was going to die. But he would never, ever betray the sole female of the entire unit. Even when they were outnumbered, overpowered and outgunned. This was a unit of G-5, damn it! Like hell he would sell out the beauty of the base!

"She's not here!" Another spat onto the Whitebeard Pirate's shoe. "You will never capture her!"

"I'm not referring to a her! I'm referring to the asshole who poisoned Pops!" Fire Fist shot back.

"We don't know anyone else!" Pike shouted. "We are just here to guard this place." And set up the merry explosions of Punk Hazard, but like he was going to tell them that the whole place could explode into fiery hell with a push of a button.

Then again, maybe not. This was a fire logia after all. If Bakezo wasn't sure that the explosives were going to be effective, he wasn't blasting this place to kingdom come if Fire Fist could easily manipulate the flames.

"Then out of the way!" Ace threw a fist full of flame at Bakezo, but Bakezo instinctively dodged the blow. Then he remembered what was behind him and tried to move back into position, but it was all too late.

"Grrrowgh!"

What have they done? Oh gods of the sea, why must you be so cruel!

"Smiley's got released." One of the men standing at the back sighed. "Oh this is just fun now."

"What's Smiley?" Diamond Jozu asked, scratching his head. Bakezo moaned weakly, horrified at what he had indirectly caused.

"Poison gas monster that was fed a Devil Fruit by the mad scientist of the area." The first person replied in a deadpan voice as Bakezo's own eyes widened. How had this pirate known? That was supposed to be a secret!

"Ace you _idiot_." Phoenix Marco groaned. "Now what?"

* * *

_Present Time_

"Oi, Ro." Ro squinted to see Kitsuen's face morphed into a deeper frown than what seemed like his usual. "I heard from Merry that you were suffering from shellshock. You sure you're ready for this?"

Ro gave a wry smile in return.

"I probably won't ever be ready for this until I'm willing to face up to it." He replied, as he continued to jog after the Self-Defense Force representative. "But I have to." The scars on his chest twitched. _Calm._ "I've got a kid to protect."

"Oh? Didn't know any kids." Kitsuen said as he turned back to follow the tunnel towards the Self-Defense Force Base. "Don't you find them a bother?"

"Used to." Or rather, he acted as if they bothered him when trying to turn away kids from his brother's group. He had given up on them after a while, finding them irredeemable. But his kid was different, and there was still the potential to change.

He was a 'D' after all. Even if the 'D' were his natural enemy, there was something in him that told him that Law was special.

"But he's not a kid anymore. He's a Supernova actually. Pretty cool, huh?" Kitsuen frowned.

"I'm actually a Marine, you know. Was moved to G-5 after Marineford."

"Sorry, bad habit." Even Ro's excuse was flimsy to his ears. "...He really shocked me when he came back with those tattoos though. So many of them!"

"Wait." Kitsuen waved a finger. "Supernova. Tattoos." Thereafter, he palmed his face. "You are talking of the 'Surgeon of Death', right?"

"Trafalgar Law." Ro smirked. "Pretty cool, huh." There was a long-drawn out groan as Kitsuen put both palms on his face.

"You are the _father_ of that damned...whatever. I don't care anymore."

"Huh?"

"I had the unfortunate opportunity of encountering your kid. First impression? Arrogant bastard that flipped the bird at just about every opportunity." Kitsuen shook his head in disbelief. "You taught him that?"

"...He's adopted?" Judging by the twitch of muscle Ro could see from his position, Law might have just frustrated Kitsuen just a tad bit more than the usual Marine.

"If I see him again, it'll all be too soon." Kitsuen replied as they came to a stop. Something stepped out of the shadow, dressed in a Marine coat, a suit, a pair of sunglasses...

Ro froze. His heart felt like bursting out of his chest, and there seemed to be blood leaking out _everywhere._ Ah. He had bit his lip. No wonder.

_It's so cold, but his mind was filled with terror. Why was he here? Shit, Law, get away from here now, it's the first Corazon!_

"...Vice Admiral Vergo." The polite tone in Kitsuen's voice was barely masking the anger that roiled in his chest. "Sir."

"Commodore Smoker." The scene from Ro's worst nightmare greeted in a cool voice. "What are you doing away from G-5?"

"Offering support for a friend." Kitsuen, no _Smoker_ replied as he lazily stood to attention. "Moral support is good and all, but it can't beat actively cheering for him."

"But what could you be doing _here_?" Vergo repeated his question.

"Well." Smoker grinned as Armament Haki covered his fist. "I can't stand to look at trash for too long anyway." With a rush, the two were tangled up in a fight. Smoker didn't disperse into smoke, but rather continued to coat his weapon with Haki as well. But Vergo was a natural Haki user, and that did not stop him from wincing when one of Vergo's punches hit close to a nerve cluster.

"Go, Merry's employee." Smoker gave a prideful grin. "I'll finish this up in fifteen minutes." This earned him a throbbing vein clearly seen on Vergo's forehead as he tossed yet another fist at him.

Then, Vergo recognised him.

"You, I thought you were dead!" Vergo snarled. "How the hell are you still here?"

"Me?" Calm. _Calm._ He can do this. This man had been stuck undercover for a while. His skills are rusty. In the meantime, Ro had trained like hell was at his heels so that he would be able to protect Law. _He can do this._

"Marine Code 01746. Reinstated of my position by former Fleet Admiral Sengoku the Buddha." At Smoker's whistle, Ro threw down a gas cannister, causing smoke to fill the room rapidly. As a logia, that would be enough of a smoke screen. Vergo wouldn't be able to distinguish between what was Smoker and what was ordinary smoke.

"Commodore Donquixote Rosinante." _Silent._ He caused a small privacy barrier to cover his face. Like Law, he had been trying to control the size of the orbs he could control.

The thing is that with Devil Fruits, the sky's the limit. Law's shown this when he not only swapped things about, but even swapped personalities about, leading to one fine day where those on board the vessel woke up with different bodies than they had gone to sleep with the day before.

It was pretty funny, after things had settled down and everyone was in the right body. And Law blushed as though his head was on fire; that was cute as well.

He was a soundless human. Sound is primarily propagated by the use of vibrations in the air. Not only could it be used to trap sound, but prevent smoke particles from diffusing into the spheres he created as well.

Without the rush of air, the smoke bomb disguising his weapon, Rosinante's gun made no sound at all as the shot rang true. Vergo, long used to the gradual placidity in the G-5 base (which some may say chaotic and extremely violent) stumbled as his knee cap was taken out.

"You!" Vergo turned his attention to Rosinante, a scowl crawling about his features. But Smoker wasn't done yet. As Smoker caused his lungs to choke up with dust, the hidden weapon within the cannister began to work. Vergo's movement slowed, his rage-filled expression painted over his face as he fell victim to the anesthetic and sleeping gas that Merry had crafted for his usage earlier.

"..." Ro couldn't speak, but it was as though his heart was bursting out of his chest. He had actually _did_ it.

"...You're a Marine as well?" Smoker scratched his head. "Haven't heard of you."

"I don't think you would have. I was reported dead eleven years back. This guy did a number on me then. My brother finished me off, or so most thought." Rosinante scratched his head ruefully.

"Hmph. Want to deal him the final blow?" Should he? Rosinante didn't know. On the one hand, this guy did beat him into a bloody pulp, and he had to return the favour.

But on the other hand, he's grown soft after eleven years of being away from the front lines, and he finds himself shirking from the responsibility of ending another life with his own hands.

Or, he could take a third option.

"Vergo. I've no doubts that Doffy asked you to guard this base and abduct the children that my boss is so desperate to save." He plucked the Den Den Mushi from Vergo's pocket, and started to walk away.

"Instead of you telling him, I'll just tell him that you failed to do so." With that said, he pocketed the Den Den Mushi and walked away, trying to steady his palpitating heart as Smoker decided to wreak further vengeance, judging from the unconscious moans that Vergo was producing.

Payback was a bitch. Good thing he's on this side handing payback.

* * *

**And now, a guide as to who is where**

Vergo, Rosinante and Smoker: Tunnel between dock and Caesar's lab

Merry, Sniper, Monet, Caesar: Caesar's lab on the frozen side one and half years into the future.

Ace, Marco, Jozu and Izo as well as rest of Pirate King's Crew: Within the military base, but still farther away than the invasion team.

Invasion team of Future Sanji, Thatch and Haruta and Dragon: Three miles off from the Self-Defense Force base, which is located within the complex. Smiley just got free, so it's chasing them. Again, why did you do this, Ace?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, I did try to follow my original thematic naming of chapters But in the end, it just didn't fit. Well, we will save the Clam for a later chapter.


	23. Bait and Switch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Things go awry for both parties.

 

* * *

_Many years in the future_

_"Captain Luffy." The young woman stood up, hurriedly rubbing at her eyes. "Is it true then?" Rather than a reply, the Pirate King sat down heavily, holding his head in his hands. Slowly, he gave a nod._

_"Feel free to yell and scream at me. I deserve it." He morosely said. "They didn't have to come after me."_

_"It was their choice." She says, shielding the hurt that his death had brought to her heart. "I knew it long ago when he sailed away. Only bad things come from deaths, or so I've known."_

_"You don't hate me?" He whispered, uncovering his face. Luffy's eyes were brimming with tears, and so was hers. But she was a listener by nature, and so she quietly cupped his face, and brought her nose close to his._

_"No, I don't. But why have you come?" The young woman stroked through his dark hair. Her loved one had departed, but his wishes had remained true. And she had loved each paper that retold his stories like pages from a fairy tale. His exploits were almost akin to the imaginary explorers and sailors that he used to think up on a beautiful summer day like this._

_"I need you to be part of something." Luffy said. "What say you to being my companion?"_

_"Companion?" She echoed, frowning in thought. "For what?"_

_Luffy scratched his head in quiet thought, before taking out a piece of parchment. On it was a picture of a ship so unlike any she had ever known. For one, the dimensions seemed to be extraordinary huge for a ship. For another, there were various mechanical things attached to it that she could not recognize._

_"This is only going to be a back-up plan in case negotiations fall through." He said, no humor in his voice. "But there is a high chance that the world as we know it would be destroyed in the next few years. There is a ship named Noah that is remarkably like it, but it's been torn and broken down. This is a new one, and I hope that you could be part of my ship."_

_"You want me to be your nakama?" She politely said, causing Luffy to wince._

_"No!" He quickly replied. "No, this isn't just being my nakama. This is a commitment of a lifetime, and I can't say that I'll be able to come to your rescue as easily as I can rescue others."_

* * *

"Sniper, I probably didn't ask you the first time, but why do you insist on going by codenames?" Merry asked even as the pair continued their movement through Caesar's laboratory. "For us twenty, we gave up our names in exchange for an extension of our own mortality, but you didn't use the same route as us, right?"

"Jacob did." Sniper remarked,"...But instead of creating new lives different from what we once led, we repossessed our own bodies. Keeping up code names ensures that we aren't caught by the Marines when carrying out barely legal activities. Or associating with fishmen and mermen."

"I hear that one of my companions had done the same, because of her particular ability." Merry recalled the pink-haired mermaid princess which too held a key to Raftel. "But our captain objected to us robbing our present selves' future; he felt that our problems should not spread further."

"Then your captain is being naive. The moment we stepped into the past, our own future ceased to exist." Sniper scoffed.

"...Sniper, do you think what happened in the future really won't happen again?" Merry felt her heart seize up upon the incoming realization.

Sniper's head tilted in an inquiring fashion.

"My captain had tried to stop the deaths of the Rumbar Pirates-"

"Is he _mad_? I thought he wanted 'Dead Bones' Brook as his crew?"

"Exactly! But Brook's crew still died in the end." Merry's fist clenched. "So here's my question: Based on the time rubber band theory, how much would our actions affect the course of our future?"

Sniper frowned in thought, even as they continued to move towards the Biscuit Room at a jog.

"We may not know for certain, but Jacob found an exception to this rule: That you guys, meaning the twenty guardians, are able to affect the future up to a certain extent with the keys you carry."

"Change the future? With our keys?" Merry continued to smile hesitantly, while her mind was roiling with the possibilities that entailed. Maybe that's why her captain had asked her to stay hidden. Yes, unlike he and Jacob and the leader of the third power, they had the potential to select the new Pirate King.

 _Not that I have any captain in mind._ Her captain would have been the first choice. But because she had been laying low for a while, there was no way that she could have found another captain. She was no natural sailor; she was simply someone who loved listening to stories and letting her imagination wonder.

"Yes. Oh, here we are." Merry cooled her heels, literally, as the temperature started to rapidly drop within the room.

"Who are you?" A green-haired slim beauty strode right in front of them, taking off her glasses. "Did Vergo send you?"

"What do you think?" Their only answer was the wind gustling about their ears as snow flooded the room.

"Monet, I presume." Sniper unsheathed her sword. "Unfortunately for you, I've done this before. Merry, go ahead. I'll take care of her as soon as possible."

"And what makes you think you can do that?" A gust of cold wind blew through as the door started to freeze, bringing a biting chill into the passage.

Sniper smirked, before disappearing in a whirlwind.

"Because I've done this before."

The blizzard nearly blinded Merry with its sudden onslaught, but Merry could still hear the clashing of steel against steel as Sniper continued to make use of _Soru_ to dodge every blow that Monet could fire.

A hailstorm of _Snow Rabbits_ flew, in an attempt to slow Merry's movement, but with a single utilisation of _Haki_ , a corner of the door was cut off, allowing Merry a clear path through. Merry whizzed past the fighting duo, right into the connecting tunnel.

"Right then. On to the Biscuit room." Merry nodded, continuing her journey onwards.

* * *

"What are you?" A hoarse voice croaked out. Sniper simply looked on as the secretary tried to reassemble her body back together. But she continued to fall apart, fear cutting through her like no sword had done in this life time.

Sniper touched her shoulder, where the nerves had frozen. Yes, she knew that there were better ways to ensure that her target was solid enough, but why had she allowed herself to be bitten there once again? Was what Merry said genuine? Or to distract her?

Sniper knew that the Marines should not have killed the closest companions of the Pirate King's Crew. Instead of extending the uneasy peace, they had created an overwhelming enemy as the web surrounding the Pirate King became clear.

And Merry was one of the examples of people who should have never been wronged. Hell hath no fury but a scorned woman indeed.

"A vigilante." For that was what she was; a person unsanctioned by any government to enforce her own form of justice. Who could be certain that their definition was correct? The Neo-Marines who held their 'Absolute Justice'? Or the Self-Defense Force, whose creation was motivated by the Pirate King's actions?

Sniper didn't know justice anymore.

But was that going to help her? The purpose of coming to the past was to ensure that _that_ didn't happen again. But by following orders, were they retracting their steps and delving into hell itself? Or were they acting as the Devil's Advocate to the selection of a king?

She felt a rush of air behind her. With one flick, she drew blood.

The snow woman fell, her last ditch attack backfired. Blood gurgled through Monet's mouth as the would-be Harpy breathed her last. Sniper stared at her dying opponent, pity at the woman who aided the Donquixote family in taking over Dressarosa. She couldn't hate her; both were women being pulled by very different fates. But neither could Sniper sympathise with a woman who had chosen such an unworthy person as Doflamingo to be a King.

"If you're still alive even after this, then hear this—I knew people like Donquixote Doflamingo. They're people who love only themselves, and as much as their subordinates are deceived into thinking that they are the exceptions—'

_Careful there. Wouldn't want to hurt yourself, would you, little snipe?_

'They're but just pawns."

"You'll...never...understand," Monet whispered.

"Oh, I _do._ " Pity coated her voice. "But I found a better commander to follow." She frisked her opponent's body and found the Den Den no Mushi hidden in Monet's clothes (Sniper was envious. How had she hidden the snail in those tight fitting clothes?) and with a few flicks of her sword, damaged the receiver. Doflamingo won't be able to give orders directly now.

"If you do think of trying to kill us all, be warned. We have it all covered." While suicide runs were her men's specialty, they still had practice in setting and defusing explosions.

_Purupurupuru._

"Merry?"

"Sniper, you _liar._ " Merry's tone was as biting as the wind in the tunnel.

"There aren't any children here."

* * *

_"Captain?" She materialized next to the cloaked king.  
_

_"Ka-Merry." Her captain spoke monotonously, motioning towards the fallen figure. "I have something for you to take care of."_

_She knelt, eyes monitoring the dead_ — _no unconscious man. Several gunshots. Signs of having been kicked in the face, possible concussion. Lips turning blue, but chapped and dry, implying malnutrition of some kind._

_How the hell was he still alive?_

_Something was crying in the distance. Her captain's head shot back, turning his gaze towards the crier._

_"Merry, stabilize his condition. Boy, come here." The small person stood back, wrapped in a warm cloak of his own, but continued to feverishly cry regardless of the shushing sounds that her captain had made. The snow made the white patches on his skin stand out even more, but rather than shivering in the cold, his hands made grasping motions towards the unconscious soul._

_"Can you heal him?" Her captain bent down, scooping the boy in his arms. The boy instinctively curled up, but continued to reach out for the man lying between them._

_Merry glanced at him. Luffy, no Saru continued to wear the indifferent expression of many years, but there was something like desperate hope peeking out of those blank eyes.  
_

_Her captain had been apathetic to the cries of those surrounding him for over thirty years. Perhaps it was to be expected, as he refused to take on more burdens that he couldn't carry. Now, however, this man had grown more determined, more pig-headed than his old self_

_Merry looked at the patient on the ground between them. Broken bones, possible concussion, heavy blood loss..._

_It was about time these healing hands were put to good use._

_"If I can look after you," She said, pointing at her stubborn yet optimistic captain who was now grinning at her like a complete idiot regardless of the alarming situation that they had gotten themselves into, "I can probably look after him!"_

_Saru's loony expression softened into something like a grateful smile._

_"Then I thank you." He handed her the wary-looking boy (who looked confused at this sudden turn of events) and cradled the man between his arms._

_"Let's go back to my ship." There were several cannons fired in the distance, but both she and the captain who had lost his name ignored it as they continued their journey back to the opposite shore._

* * *

_Trafalgar Law was absolutely terrified when he woke up. And no wonder, for he had fallen asleep. In a stranger's arms. While not lying down at all._

_His hands and legs felt numb, and refused to move even as he willed them desperately to do so. Was he captured? If so, who had done it? The Marines? The Donquixote Pirates? Or the pirates that Cora-san had stolen from?_

_"CORA-SAN!" He yelled, attempting to sit up, but was motioned to lie down by a woman. A nurse? He watched her closely. What was she going to do?_

_Law froze. Minion Island had no hospitals to begin with. He turned, and looked out of the open window. The sea, and the horizon was gently moving up and down. A ship then. But not the Donquixote ship. Nor a marine ship._

_Who had kidnapped them? Could they be after the Ope Ope no Mi? Or were they bounty hunters taking advantage of a weak and immobile target._

_Law was not going to let anyone take him by surprise. He reached out for a pocket knife he usually kept on him, but instead of the clothes he remembered wearing, Law found that he was wearing a clean set of pajamas._

_"Hold on and let me explain." She said, stilling his movements. "It's been two weeks since I picked you off Minion Island. Your friend is resting in the next room. **I am not out to capture you.** " She opened her palms, displaying no weapons. _

_Law scrutinized the woman more carefully. She had long blonde hair tied up in a loose bun, and dressed in normal clothes, not unlike the ones that civilians wore. The ship that they were on seemed worn down but well-maintained._

_"My name is Merry." She said, pointing at herself. "How about you?"_

_Law was tempted to answer, but shook his head. Instead, he tried to stand up, but fell over clumsily instead. The woman winces sympathetically, and he could hear the sound of her footsteps as she bent down to pick him up. Law tried to thank her, but the first words to come out of his mouth was-  
_

_"Where's Cora-san?" The woman sighed, shaking her head._

_"I'll bring you there." She said, opening her arms. Over Law's weak protests, he found himself being carried from one room to the next. And gasped silently as he met the sight of his friend lying prone on the bed.  
_

_"He received a pretty nasty concussion." She comments, interrupting his train of thought as he drags his eyes away from Cora-san. "I don't know when he'll wake up, but he will."_

_"...Thanks." He says. Out of the last six months, no one had looked at him with those eyes that said 'I want to heal you'. Instead, they wore scared, terrified expressions that they were going to get the Amber Lead Syndrome from him, and that it was contagious._

_"Why aren't you scared of me?" He asks. "I have the..." He can't bring himself to say it, but the woman understands his point and sits down next to both him and Cora-san._

_"I'm a doctor who was trained in a more advanced area." She said, moving a lock of hair back behind her ear. "And I've dealt with poison treatments before."_

_"Poison?" The woman hummed in agreement._

_"Yes. Foxglove, aconite and other plant-based poisons are popular in the Grand Line, but sometimes heavy metal poisoning could be found. I used chelation therapy, which makes use of a chemical to bind the accumulated lead such that it can be excreted out."  
_

_"...Then, I'm cured now?" If the treatment was that easy and readily available, then why hadn't they met her before everything had gone to hell on Minion Island? Why had Cora-san nearly died, if any doctor could easily pull it off?_

_"In most cases, yes. However, the Amber Lead Syndrome is different such that it binds to the DNA of the person, and thus this treatment would be unable to remove lead poisoning of that sort, but only alleviate the symptoms."_

_"So, I'm still dying in other words." He felt a shaky, unkind smirk spread across his knew it wasn't going to be so simple. For the past few months, Law had been moving in and out of consciousness. No simple treatment could easily alleviate this disease; his father would have easily found a cure long ago were it so.  
_

_"Don't say that. You have the Ope Ope no Mi, don't you?" She harrumphs, "Only those who are willing to try can save themselves!"  
_

_Law touches at the white patches that are covering his entire body. There is something akin to hope blossoming in his chest. For the first time, he can see a future beyond a death bordered by the barbed-wire fences of Flevance. It's a nice feeling, but he's too broken to hope for a miracle._

_"I...I don't know about that." He says, stretching out his palm. "I don't know how to use this thing."  
_

_The woman rolls her eyes but pinches his cheek gently, provoking a yell of annoyance._

_"Then it's a good thing I actually have a book that tells me how. I'll bring it over!" She went out of the room, humming a soft tune. Law looked back at the sleeping figure of his guardian and caregiver over the last six months of his life._

_Cora-san had not needed him in the first place. He had sacrificed his position in the Donquixote Family, his cover, and even his life just to protect Law. How could anyone be so altruistic, so selfless? If their positions had been reversed, then Law would have left Cora-san far behind, and continued to maintain his high position and continued to spy on Doflamingo. Cora-san didn't need Law at all, whereas the other members of the Donquixote Family only saw him in terms of the usefulness he entailed. They had only valued him in terms of what he could give to them, whereas Cora-san had abandoned his mission to help him._

_Law made his decision on the spot. If he were to survive recovering from the Amber Lead Syndrome, and had the power to protect Cora-san...Then he will. With Doflamingo after him, and Cora-san once he found out that he was alive, then they would both be killed.  
_

_Law's eyes narrowed. Doflamingo had to be gotten rid of. For Cora-san.  
_

_"Law, I've found the book~!" The woman came back into the room, holding up a hardcover volume that had pages folded up and dogeared. Like the ship, it looked worn, but well-cared for, and as she opened up the book, Law recognised that one of the pages folded up had been the Ope Ope no Mi._

_"Were you searching for it?" He asks, pointing at the page. The woman's eyes saddened, as she brushed her fingers against the image of the heart-shaped fruit._

_"No. But I once knew someone who ate it. He was a funny kind of guy, really. All sarcastic and rude and unbelievably serious. Taught me plenty." Law watched she blinked tears away. "But he died."_

_"You...don't want the fruit?" Merry shook her head, chuckling as she glanced at him._

_"Heavens, no! I do like being able to swim. But I think that the fruit chooses the person who eats it. You're kind of like him, but different at the same time." She says, rubbing at his head. "For one, there's a lot more in your future then in his."_

_"My future?" Law made a face. "What are you talking about?"_

_"Nothing. Actually, forget what I just said, it's just a figure of speech really." She says, waving the comment off. "Now let's see how to work this thing!"_

* * *

Law blearily opened his eyes. He had dreamed of his past again.

He stared at the island where both his guardians were searching for poisoned children. Punk Hazard...the name of an abandoned island that was once host to Vegapunk's laboratory. It would have been interesting to investigate further. Perhaps dissect one of the native species to see how they adapt to the poisonous gas?

However, he wasn't about to risk his ass for a small investigation. There were two admirals on the island, and he hadn't exactly forgotten about the Pacifista on Sabaody Archipelago. Or the stories of how Kizaru had went after Basil Hawkins.

Law was brave, but he wasn't foolhardy. And if he were to steal the throne properly, then it meant that he had to act carefully.

"Captain!" Bepo cried out as the bear mink rushed over him. "The Whitebeard Pirates are flagging us over!"

Law's jaw dropped figuratively. The hell? He wanted to tell his men to submerge, but before he could do so, something landed on his ship.

"I knew I recognised the ship!" Some pipsqueak shouted out. Law blinked once, twice, and stared at the creature.

"Are you a mink?" Because the thing standing on his deck seemed to be crossed between a raccoon dog and a human.

"No, he's not from Zou." Bepo helpfully interjects. "Looks like one though."

"No, I'm not." The thing grabs him by the wrist, and he wrenches it away immediately.

"Who the hell are you then?"

"I'm from the Straw Hat Pirates." Oh, so he was with Straw Hat then?

"Don't care. Get off my ship." Even when they shared some experiences on Sabaody Archipelago, that didn't give a reason why he had to help the Straw Hat crew as well.

"I need your help with a patient!" Despite himself, Law's ears pricked up.

"Oh, who?" He said, tapping his feet. The tanuki-"Cotton Candy Lover" Chopper, that was his name, bore a grim expression.

"Whitebeard." Oh, the captain of this ship was ill? That's interesting. Reports from the New World told of how the man had been injured at Marineford. Was that the outcome then?

"And why would I rescue a rival to the throne then?" Chopper huffed.

"Because he's a patient, and I think it's the doing of the Fleet Admiral!" Oh, so it was Jacob behind the lack of Whitebeard's appearance then? However, Law reminded himself that he wasn't about to waste any energy that could have been used to rescue Cora-san. And that by helping Whitebeard out a bit, he was indirectly assisting a rival for the throne of Raftel. Not to mention he wasn't obligated to do anything for the Straw Hat Pirates anyway.

But Law had to get back at Jacob for risking Cora-san's and Merry's lives for a couple of children...And there was the matter that he was not going to move a finger to assist them in doing so...Good things come to people who do good deeds as well...

"Well then. Let's see what I can do about that." He says, pushing the brim of his hat downwards. It would be interesting to play with the sophisticated medical equipment that he knew had to be on board that ship-the man was an Emperor of course, and had to be able to get the best technology that the Grand Line could offer.

Law might actually be able to acquire something useful out of being a Samaritan in this scenario.

"Oi, I'm going on board. Shachi, Bepo, take charge of the _Scalpel_ while I'm gone." Shachi and Penguin breathed a sigh of relief. Idiots, as if Whitebeard was in a well enough condition to cause an earthquake in the first place.

Then Chopper grew five feet.

...Maybe Shachi had a right to worry after all?

"I'll carry you there." The now larger version of Straw Hat's crew jumped up, and leaped over to the _Moby Dick._

What had Law gotten himself into?

* * *

"I don't understand!" Smoker ran his hands through his hair. "Sniper and I had confirmed that there was the presence of children there earlier!"

_"Did you see them with your own eyes then?"_

"No, but when we were here the first time," Smoker started to pace, chugging heavily on his cigar, "They had already been there for three years in a row."

 _"On hindsight, it makes more sense that they were moved off the island before the Fleet Admiral Battle."_ Merry's grim tone reverberated through the passage. _"If the Admirals were to discover that such an inhumane experiment was being carried out, Aokiji would never have kept this quiet."_

"You're right to say that, but the two were battling at the centre of the island. Even as the climate changed, it made no sense for them to evacuate the children along with them. Furthermore, we know that they were brought into the island even with the gas hanging over the prisoners and Caesar, so they would not have chosen to move the facility away in lieu of a battle between those two."

_"In other words, they're hidden within the facility. Sniper, we're currently in which building?"_

_"We've just gone from Room A, which connects between the entrance of the Research Institute to the second room, Room B. I went ahead to the Biscuit Room while Sniper finished off Monet the secretary. There are plenty of prisoners there but they refused to provide information under interrogation, so no dice there."  
_

"Very well." Smoker said, frowning in thought. "Sniper, destroy the SAD-"

"Wait." Rosinante interrupted him, frowning. "If we destroy SAD, we'll rile up Doffy _and_ Kaido, which is what the Marines won't be able to survive as a divided group. However, if we were to make it appear as an accident, then Kaido would come after Doffy instead, thus avoiding the blame."

"Aren't you contradicting yourself? How do we-oh. I see." Smoker rubbed his chin. "That makes sense."

_"Could you explain? I still don't get what Ro is planning to pull."_

"Say if a certain pair of admirals were to accidentally wreck their place, then the liability is on Doflamingo for not protecting it before because both of them have spies in the Marines, one of which we had just recently gotten rid of." Smoker's mouth twitched. "I believe that his job was to protect the SAD production line, while ensuring that news of the children had not gotten out."

"However, Kaido, being a perfectly normal pirate would be understandably furious, and thus would blame his supplier, Doffy. This would lead to a clash between the two, leading to immense pressure on Doffy."

"Doflamingo transfers his anger on Caesar, and thus with both Doflamingo and Smiley to deal with, leaving his men nice and easy to handle." Smoker finished.

 _"And how do you think that we're going to get those two to come up to the Research Institute?"_ Merry muttered in return.

"Bait coming in five...four..."

"Oh, you've got to be _kidding me._ " Smoker commented. "So once again, we're relying on _them? Again?"_

"Three..two..."

_"Got it, we'll continue to eliminate surveillance cameras then."_

_"Thank you very much for your assistance."_

"One." There was an almighty crash from the wall above them, and as light shined directly down for the first time in years, there was a roar of frustration as the gigantic reptile flip-flopped, toppling under the weary strength of its long flight.

Three pirates met the eyes of two Marines.

"Ah. Smoker. Good timing." Smoker felt his palm meet his face.

 _"Good Day_ , Black Leg." The Pirate King's cook grinned.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A note as to who is where:
> 
> Rosinante (Ro), Smoker (Kitsuen) and invasion team of Thatch, Haruta and Future Sanji: Self-Defense Force base, in the former Marine branch.
> 
> Merry and Sniper and Caesar's men: Research Institute (Caesar's Laboratory), Room B.
> 
> Marco, Ace, Izo, Jozu and some members of the Pirate King's Crew: In the former Marine base, but outside of the Self-Defense Force Branch.
> 
> Caesar and children: ?
> 
> Doflamingo: Currently in Dressarosa, but knowing that it's within a day's flight and having had none of the punctual reports from Vergo or Monet, he's a bit suspicious about what's going on but attributes it to increased security to avoid detection from the Marines.
> 
> Akainu and Aokiji: Still fighting near the centre of the island. Don't worry, they'll have some screen time soon. 
> 
> I think Monet's fight was a bit of a curb-stomp, because 1) Sniper's fought her before. 2) She was younger and less experienced in battle. 3) Monet knew that her mission of preventing the children from being taken away wasn't being threatened, and thought she could go easy on the Marine Officer that Vergo had told her was still a Captain.  
> Pity Sniper's true rank isn't that anymore. 
> 
> We see the beginning of Law's need to get rid of Doflamingo: Protect Cora-san/Rosinante. However, Ro is pretty unhappy with this unhealthy obsession.  
> Note that Law doesn't take much notice of Merry, and his thoughts are only revolving around his illness (which has been an emotional crutch) and Cora-san, his saviour. But on the other hand, we know that Merry's a former doctor. Why would a doctor become a bartender? And if we know that she's one of the twenty, then why is she allied with the Self-Defense Force?


	24. Hell hath no fury but a woman scorned

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A word about Merry: The word Merry, according to David Crystal came to be applied to people in the 14th century, and we see it used for any kind of animated enjoyment-and also when the animation is drink-fuelled. Anyone happily tipsy is said to be merry. That usage goes back to the Middle Ages, when people were also said to be merry-drunk. In the 16th century (This story is set in 1522 of the Pirate's Era) strong ale was called merry-go-down. Quite an apt name for a bartender, don't you think?
> 
> This update's slower because I was busy signing up for scholarships and had no time to focus and write what I have in mind.
> 
> And now, onto the chapter!

"Oh?" Jacob peered at the screen. "So they've decided to abort their mission? Smoker's become more convincing than ever." He let out a tinkle of laughter.

"But Captain Smookey~" Jacob sang out, twirling a curly hair between two fingers. "Do you think I wouldn't have accounted for your betrayal?" His eyes narrowed. "I won't let you go so far as to do that."

He stood in front of tapestry, fraying at the seams. As carefully as ever, he unpicked one loose threat. He plucked a hair from his head, before twining it around the emerald green thread. Then, he removed another, which had gotten stubby, and again he intertwined the slate grey with his own hair.

"Now, little puppets. Work for me." He leaned back in his seat. "It'll be interesting to see what comes next."

_"Do you think it would really work? People have been trying to create giants for centuries to no avail." A disguised Jacob motioned to the young Caesar. The young and confident scientist nodded enthusiastically._

_Jacob inwardly shook his head in disbelief. It was hard to believe that this upstanding young talent would grow to be the sociopath of his time. But nurture had its own input as well, and far be it for Jacob to discourage another's talent._

_"Of course it will!" He boasted. "Just put this x and y_ —"

_"Ah, but how about this? You know how Paramecias are so common, right? But Zoans are pretty rare. And Logia the most of all."_

_"I don't understand." A spark lit off behind the scientist's eyes. "It could be possible. Yes, it could! Especially with Vegapunk's lineage theory_ —"

 _"Then it's simple, is it not?" Jacob smiled politely. "If you want to look at Vegapunk's theory more closely_ —"

_"I'll join the Marine Science Department. There's bound to be someone like me!" Caesar excitedly said. Then he grew quiet._

_"There would be, won't it? Someone who doesn't feel a thing when someone's hurt, I mean." Insecurity lied under the confident bearing of the proud man of science.  
_

_"Of course there will be!" Jacob heartily replied._

_Caesar Clown bustled away, delighted._

If one didn't use scientific methods, how could one call himself a scientist? Jacob didn't pity the gas logia, that was for certain. Even he had his own standards!

* * *

"Everyone, this is Vice Admiral Smoker of the Marines." A pin could have dropped and rattled audibly with the silence that ensued. Both Thatch and Haruta stared in disbelief as the white-haired logia palmed his face once again.

"Cook?" Haruta pointed at Smoker, " _This is a Marine Vice Admiral."_

"Yeah, didn't I just tell you that?" The Pirate King's cook puffed at his cigarette in a relaxed manner, a contrast to the tense manner of his two temporary companions.

"This guy tried to kill us not a year ago and you're saying that we go along with him?" Thatch shook his head in disbelief. "Are you mad?"

"I appreciate the lack of trust you're showing me," Haruta snorted at the sarcarsm, "But we're wasting time here. Black Leg, what are you doing in this base?"

"We heard that your head was responsible for poisoning our captain." Haruta crossed her arms, "So where's the cure?"

"Poison?" Smoker echoed, before shaking his head. "A guy like him? He's way too straight forward for that kind of—" He suddenly stopped talking, face locked in a frown.

"...You've thought of something." The cook had hit the nail on the head, judging by the wary glance that Smoker was giving the Transponder Snail.

"Our orders were to rescue the children present here on Punk Hazard, and to stop Caesar Clown's illegal activities." Smoker shoved a few reports at Sanji. The cook glanced over the papers. Evidence that there had been ships travelling to and from the deserted base, as well as large amounts of organic drugs being ordered and transferred via Dressarosa; the disappearance of a few bodies that were supposed to be present after the poison gas had evaporated leaving the Marine investigators suspicious as to the whereabouts of those that had been left behind after the evacuation. Finally, missing child reports from nearby islands with photographs of familiar faces and witness accounts detailing the disappearance of preschool-age kids from civilian neighbourhoods.

"However, the other investigation group has found no trace of these civilian children at all, raising questions as to the purpose of us being here. We suspect that the commanding officer or his vice-head had deliberately led us into a trap and that our group would have been decimated by your men or that Caesar Clown would have finished us off, leaving both parties trapped." Smoker continued, crossing his arms.

Sanji let out a hiss. So the Fleet Admiral had been playing them against each other, gaining the fisherman's advantage. He had known that Smoker had been stuck at Loguetown precisely because of his willingness to countermand orders, forcing 'Black Cage' Hina to constantly support his position. It was only after Marineford when his own abilities had been proven in front of the higher-ups had he been elevated to a position more suited to his own abilities.

In the Marines, most would think that might makes right, judging by the powers that the Admirals and Vice-Admirals possessed. However, the Marines had several warring factions within. Akainu's faction was the most dominant one, with Doberman and Momonga chief among his followers. As a result of being familiar with a few scions or princelings whose fathers were also in the World Government, Akainu was popular with them and through their influence the Five Elder Stars. Aokiji, though not actually leading, was seen as the figurehead of another faction, with several of those who served under Garp the Fist choosing to follow him. Aokiji was also reasonably popular with those on the lower ranks of the totem pole due to his easy-going manner as opposed to Akainu's aggressive bearing.

When Akainu had won, there had been greater control extended over the Marines. But at the same time, there was greater welfare for them as the Marines went through a few rounds of conscription. By forcing those of great powers into the Marines, Akainu was able to get more benefits such as pensions as well as protection of civilian members of the Marines, incentivizing them from deserting. This had led to greater voluntary enlistment, as the pay for the average Marine was increased as well due to the increased budget that the Marines had received due to the higher-ups' negotiations.

Were Aokiji to be the winner, he would have practised 'Moderate Justice'. With his style, a laissez-faire treatment of pirates and civilians alike would have been in place. There would be less tariffs, because Aokiji was known to promote entrepot trade in his home port city as well as in the territories he used to govern as a Vice Admiral. To the World Government, that would have been a disaster, but Sanji could see that there would have been less of an incentive to turn to piracy. In that manner, there would have been stronger trade links between countries as people sought to turn their efforts into money, rather than risk their lives against the World Government. This would in turn have led to less support for the Marines, but the welfare of the average civilian would have been better off. However, Aokiji was not favoured among the higher-ups, and it would have been more likely that he would have been placed on a tighter leash and given less budget to do as he will.

Akainu was a beneficial Fleet Admiral to the Marines and had led the world into a few years of uneasy peace. Aokiji would have been a better Fleet Admiral for civilians, but there would have been no way for him to unify the Marines from the already widening gap between those of 'Absolute Justice' and 'Moderate Justice'.

It's a sad day when one has to choose between a merciless 'mad dog' and the seemingly harmless guy who handed you your ass and joined the Blackbeard Pirates. _When they were strong._

"However, we've got a problem. Merry's reported back telling us that there were no children to be found. They're still searching, but I've assigned them to destroying the cameras and evidence while I'll try to 'accidentally' destroy SAD."

"And how do you suppose we accomplish that? It'll be pretty obvious that something's suspicious." Haruta arched an eyebrow.

A sharp smirk spread across Smoker's face.

"Doflamingo will get into trouble for not taking proper precautions against the fact that the base that he's using happened to have two Admirals on it. And the best way to do that—"

* * *

"SCREW YOU BASTARD!" Ace shouted back as the two Marines and assorted pirates raced ahead.

"You agreed to being bait, didn't you?" The cook raised his eyebrows. "Why the objection now?"

"I agreed to being a _distraction._ Not this!" Ace roared as he continued to sprint away from the rest.

_Grragh...Growl!_

"It appears Smiley disagrees with you on that." Jiru thumbed at the poisonous monstrosity that was now eying Ace as its new meal.

"All in favour of abandoning Ace to that thing?" Thatch jokingly asked.

"AGREED!" Those of G-5 shouted back as Vice Admiral Smoker grunted.

"WHO ASKED YOU?" Ace threw fireballs in an attempt to deter the axolotl from its path, only for it to continue to explode and separate into several pieces.

"Maah," The head of the subordinates puts his finger in his nose. "We'll take you on after the whole shebang is over." Several other Marines gave a nod while Smoker palmed his face as though it pained him to do so.

"Swordsman. Why don't you make a move?" Smoker muttered. "I'm fully aware that you had evaded capture from that monster—"

"We had Kine'mon to help us." The swordsman waved at the monster. "Cutting fire isn't exactly the best way to handle this thing anyway." With a flying leap, he disappeared from the gas balloon that Unit 01 had commandeered for their own, instantly reappearing right next to the Smiley creature.

" _With this sword, Shusui, I cut thee. With this sword, Wado Ichimonji, I take thee. With this sword, Sandai Kitetsu, I reap thee._ **Santoryu Ogi: Ichidai Sanzen Daisen Sekai!** _"_ His sword lit up with a bright white light, intense heat burning away at the shadowed edge. In quick succession, massive slashes were delivered to the Smiley creature, causing it to stumble.

"Portgas, we need one extra large fireball to finish it off!" The alleged 'God of Food' called out from his vantage point. "Marimo! Take care of the remains!"

"Alright! **Dai Enkai!** " Smiley was rapidly consumed by the flames. It gurgled, lurching to one side, growls slowing and growing softer into whimpers. The salamander slumped in its position, its toxic head lolling as it feebly tried to make a move towards the group.

" **Kokujo: O Tatsumaki!** " One twirl. Two twirls. Three twirls. Wind surged around the swordsman, provoking a gust to blow the dirigible that the others were riding in to drift off course. As the Marines scrambled to shift back to its original heading, a dragon-shaped tornado rose into the air, roaring with the might of a thousand men as it wound through the air, causing rocks to be swept up in its wake as it flew straight into the poisonous creature.

With one last mournful cry, the creature literally exploded, sending flaming bits of poison throughout the atmosphere. It rained down on the ground, burning acidic potholes wherever it landed.

"Be more careful, you shitty Marimo!" The cook shouted out.

"I _am_ being more careful!" The swordsman shouted back. "Why don't you pull your own weight too!"

"Cloud Tempo!" The navigator shouted out, raising her baton. The sky rumbled, clouds gathering around them, and there were shouts of dismay.

"Watch out, weather witch!" Thatch could hear one of his fellow commanders shout out. "This thing's filled with flammable gas! If the lightning hits, we're all going up in smoke!"

"I know, I know!" The navigator shouted back. "Rain Tempo!" The overcast clouds appeared to collapse, causing the previously clear sky to drizzle down towards the ground. The fires around them were extinguished, slowly cooling the temperature on the ground.

"OI!" Ace returned to human form. "I'm wet!"

"Sorry!" the woman didn't sound sorry at all despite her words, and Thatch had to hide a chuckle as the fire logia was carried onto the back of the swordsman. The two seemed to blur into the background, reappearing almost instantaneously back on board the ship.

"What was that for?" Ace loudly complained, his dripping black hair at odds with the slight hint of smoke rising above him. His soaked hat drooped in front of his face, provoking it to be yanked off as he tried to reignite again, only to have a sea-stone tipped jitte slammed right on its flat surface.

" _Flammable_ gas, Fire Fist." The vice admiral pointed right at the balloon above them. Marco audibly thumped his head against the side of the air-ship, grumbling in dismay.

"Oh. Oh yeah, right." Ace rubbed his head sheepishly. Then he started.

"WHY THE HELL DIDN'T YOU DO THIS EARLIER?" He stuck a finger at the swordsman, who was leaning against the railing. "What was the point of me being chased by the damn monster if you're able to get rid of this thing anyway?" He huffed.

"Because we're trying to lure those damn Admirals to the laboratory." The green-haired swordsman replied, giving his sword another twirl. A gentle breeze brushed past the two, causing them around them to shiver in place.

"Guys, I think we might have just succeeded that." Haruta called out from starboard side. Thatch, hearing this, made his way quickly to where Haruta was, and stared down below to find two very familiar personages.

One figure, angry and red and speeding across the landscape in a fiery smear. The other, making use of the readily available moisture in the air to create a smooth icy path, while at the same time freezing the other in his tracks.

Thatch gulped. Hopefully they would be able to survive this encounter in one piece.

* * *

"Uzu, do you think something has happened?" Mocha asked.

Mocha couldn't find a calendar in the room they were in, but she guessed it must have been at least months since they had last seen their parents. She rubbed at the spot where the kind scientist had injected her with some medicine. It still itched, but was more bearable as the days past.

"I don't know." Uzu moaned back, hugging his legs towards himself. "I'm bored..."

"They promised us candy if we sit here and wait, right?" Biyo pointed out. The nice lady Monet had promised that they had to hide here while the scientist entertained important guests, but they had been stuck here for days already! Mocha knew that they had to be good children and wait, but no one had came here for hours and it was past their bedtime—

The doors to the room abruptly opened.

"Hey! They're back!" Footsteps pattered as the children bustled around the person who opened the door—

Only to find that the person they were expecting wasn't there.

"You're Mocha, right?" One woman asked, crossing her arms. "I'm glad we've managed to find you."

"Your parents asked me to bring you home." The other woman said, extending her arms. "I'm Captain Tashigi of the Marines."

"And I'm Merry."

"Mary?" Uzu's eyes widened. "As in Mary from _Romance Dawn_?"

Merry paused, before nodding, her smile widening.

"I guess you can say that I'm the one who inspired Mary from the book." There was a cry of excitement, as the children surged around the pair, babbling about the events of the new storybook. Mocha felt her heart race with exhilaration, remembering the various chapters that Monet had read out to them as part of their bedtime.

_"Next time I come to this village," Aesop told her proudly as he hefted his almost bursting haversack over his shoulder, "I'll tell you adventure stories that are more unbelievable than lies!"_

_"Thank you," Mary smiled at the boy who had accompanied her throughout her childhood, "I look forward to it!"_

"Do you know what happened to Miss Monet? She said that she'll take us out as well!" Mocha asked, waving her arms.

Captain Tashigi glanced towards Miss Merry, and Mocha didn't know how to describe the expression on the Marine Captain's face. It was as though she was confused, sad and a bit like the time Mocha was caught with her hand stuck in the cookie jar. Was she feeling sorry? Or upset?

"Miss Monet...is busy with something and told us to get you first." Miss Merry replied, turning her eyes towards Mocha. "Hopefully we'll see her later. Now, who's going back to their parents?"

"What are you doing with the children?" A sad voice called out. Mocha turned, only to see the kind scientist emerge from the other door. His clothes were messy and his face shone with sweat, as though he had just ran miles and miles.

"Rescuing them." Miss Merry's face had frozen like an icicle. "Caesar Clown, formerly of the Science Department of the Marines."

"You know my name, but I don't know yours." Caesar placed his hands together. "These children are safe here, and where is Monet, by the way?"

"She's busy, as we just said." Captain Tashigi approached the kind scientist, unsheathing her sword. "We're here to help. Merry, Vice Admiral Smoker's arriving here in thirty minutes with reinforcements."

"Oh I _don't think_ so. Shurorororo!" The kind scientist cackled, his body bubbling up into fumes of gas.

"What's happening?" Biyo cried out.

"Come." Miss Merry ordered in a stern voice, but her face belied the rising excitement that was disjointed from the tense atmosphere. "We're about to go flying on a ship! Follow the path marked by the paint and you'll be able to go outside!"

"COOL!" The boys oozed with awe as they surged ahead, out of the tunnel. One by one, the girls followed suit, filtering at a more sedate pace.

"Miss Merry?" The blonde woman looked up towards her. "Will we really be able to go home?"

Miss Merry did not say anything for a while. Then, she grasped Mocha's pinky.

"Pinky swear. I promise that you will be able to see your parents." Mocha felt a beam stretch across her face. They were going home!

Unbeknownst to Mocha, Merry's other hand had its fingers crossed.

* * *

_"Smokey?" Smoker let out a grunt._

_The two that had chased each other, whom had fought each other, and who had even allied with each other against a common enemy...They were together once more, separated only by long thin rods of metal and sea-stone._

_Smoker had achieved his lifelong goal of seeing Monkey D. Luffy behind bars. But there was no pride in doing so, nor was there any delight. Instead, a myriad of emotions ranging from fear, to anger, to guilt swelled and roiled within him._

_The tale of One Piece would come to an end. And Smoker is peering into the abyss, and finding nothing to his pleasure. The previous Pirate King had ignited the Golden Age of Pirates. Whitebeard had crafted the Silver Age with a simple affirmation. The Worst Generation. The Straw Hat Grand Fleet._

_Monkey D. Luffy was at the forefront of this rising tide, yet others were present as well. This brief peace brought about by the Throne Wars would come to an end with this man's death, and Smoker could not understand the motivations of bringing this man, who had helped to overthrow dictators and give those downtrodden hope, down to the execution platform._

_Smoker was a Marine. Yet was he truly practising justice? Or the wills of others instead?_

_"We've faced each other dozen of times in battle! That makes us comrades right?" Straw Hat said, smile stretched across his face so widely that his teeth looked as though they were straining from the smile._

_"Protect my treasure for me!"_

_"Don't be so selfish!" Smoker replied, bristling. Even for a would-be king that was too farfetched. "I'm a Marine and you're the damn Pirate King!"_

_"Kishishishi! No...you'll do it!" Straw Hat's eyes narrowed as his smile became a smirk. "Take care of my_ —"

* * *

"We'll be reaching the place in twenty minutes." Marco lazily gave them a heads up as he turned back to human form.

"That's great." The Pirate King's cook had his feet balanced on the railing. "Smoker, you sure you have no idea at all as to what poisoned Whitebeard?"

"Yeah." Smoker patted the thing inside his pocket. "This was the only thing that was under heavy security inside that base, and it's no antidote, that's to be sure."

"What is it, anyway?" Thatch asked. "If we're risking our asses for it, I want to know what we're becoming targets for." Smoker shrugged in reply.

BOOM!

"What's happening!" The cook hurriedly planted his feet back on the floor as the ship rocked in response to a massive explosion reverberating through the air.

"Shit, that's the Research Institute." Haruta responded, her eyes searching for any signs of motion. "There appears to be something flying in there."

"Another of those dragons?" Jizo asked. "Maybe if we can tame one of those..."

"Cut that thought right out of your head, Jizo!" Rakuyo smacked his ship-brother's head. "We're not taking one in as a pet!"

"But..."

"Hehe." The swordsman had smirked. "I'm going."

As if in reply, a blizzard broke out less than twenty metres from the site of the explosion.

"Aokiji?" Thatch glanced back to where the two admirals were. "They were behind us not ten minutes ago?"

"This isn't the admirals." The archaeologist tapped her fingers before crossing her arms. She closed her eyes, and reflexively gasped.

"How is this possible?"

* * *

"Why did you lie to us?" Biyo cried out, his fingers turning to claws. Caesar stammered back, unable to react.

Damn, twice damn, thrice damn! He had been beaten by a puny little Marine officer who wasn't even an Admiral, had been tied up with sea-stone ropes before being dragged as they went through the tunnel leading straight to the dock.

Then he had thought about how close his secretary had been to the children, and had reminded them of how well that she and he had treated them while the two witches had continued to destroy the ongoing experiments. He thought he had been fairly successful, right up until the swordswoman had implied that they were going to prosecute him for experimenting, detailing how reports had already been handed over to both the Marine Admirals as well as the World Government.

"Don't you know? People are so hypocritical." He had cackled back. "Why don't you explain what you had done to 'Miss Monet', eh?"

"Huh?"

"My poor secretary was only trying to protect you." Caesar pretended to sob. "She was so fond of you that she never would have thought that these two evil women had teamed up to slaughter her in cold blood.

"No way..." The brat right beside him had whimpered, his face shining with tears. "Miss Merry, I thought you said that she sent you ahead to rescue us!"

"I..." The frail blonde had whispered. "She..."

"And so I have!" A voice cried out, and Caesar's head nearly gave him whiplash as he scrambled to see his secretary walking right behind her.

"How...how are you still alive?" The officer had pointed her finger in unwavering horror. Monet was a bloody sight. Red streaked hair combined with a blood-spattered shirt. Her face pale, leaked of blood and life fluids. A cut that went down her face right into her chest.

Caesar was both horror struck and awed. The barbarity of the women in taking down his logia secretary. Yet the wonder that this woman had lived. This was beautiful, her pale face white against the spatter. How had she survived? Was it due to the longevity of logia users? What could he do to replicate it? This could prove to have more potential than making giant children! Imagine soldiers who were unable to die, even up till the last of their breathes.

"You know, I don't quite know actually." Monet gurgled, as blood dribbled down her chin. Caesar felt confused. That...didn't sound like Monet at all.

"I really wonder, are experiments all that you think about?" Another voice rang out, as Vice Admiral Vergo came out from behind her. It was as though his chest was like a garden, blood congealing within his body to produce a devastating garden of bruises and cuts.

"The first thing that a scientist should have observed—"

"Is that an experiment should have been based on scientific fact, and he shouldn't build castles in the air?" Caesar was confused. The voices, despite seeming to be emitting from different sources, appeared to have the same note of arrogance. How come? Was there a transponder snail hidden in their pockets.

"You..." The swordswomen murderously hissed out. "What more could you want, Admiral?"

" **Oh, little old me?"** Both of them said together. "I want a peaceful world without conflict. And hatred breeds conflict. Fear breeds hatred."

"So why are you doing this?" 'Miss Merry' burst out. "You were so kind! Why are you even doing this? It's inhumane!"

 **"Inhumane?"** They had sang out, tilting her lips in a pout. **"Why, I never would have thought that you would be the one saying this to me! Were it not for you, we wouldn't even be here in the first place! If not for your friends, the 'Year of Terror' would not have threatened the rest of us bystanders!"**

"And tell me who started it! Who ended the peace?"

"That doesn't matter! What matters is the here and now. And to see my 'Utopia', there is nothing I would do. And as I said, Caesar—"

Caesar froze as something seemed to gather beside him.

"You really should have stopped when there was something otherworldly going on. It's far too late." The one possessing Monet and Vergo giggled, sending a chill down Caesar's spine.

" _You liars."_ Caesar turned back to where the children were sitting. All of them, be it the brats who had just been gathered from the surrounding countries, to those who had been there since the start of the experiment started growling.

_"Miss Monet was so kind!"_

_"Why did you take us from our parents?"_

_"We want to go back outside!"_

_"We want to be free!"_

_"Free!"_ Merry's eyes had widened.

"What's happening!" The Marine swordswoman tried to touch them, concern laced in her voice, only to whip her hand back as the temperature in the tunnel started to rising.

_"Free!"_

_"Let us out!"_ One of the larger brats started grasping at her face, screaming out. Her nails started growing larger and sharper and more brittle as stripes started appearing on her body. As she hissed, her teeth started growing sharper and her canines became fangs. She crouched, a tail springing out and growing larger.

"Mocha?" The swordswoman whispered in fright. "Mocha, are you okay?"

The brat's eyes had opened from their scrunched up position, and Caesar was surprised to see that her pupils had turned to slits. She let out a roar as she leapt out, scratching at them. The swordswoman battered her away with the sheath of her sword, but the brat continued to growl at them.

" _H **e** l_p _m **e**!" _ A half-growl, half cry wormed through her throat and into their ears. The rest of the children were in no better shape. One's skin had started becoming scaly, his own half-formed lizard tail swinging wildly. Another had rolled about on the ground, hair shrinking down and turning into reddish fur.

"Sniper! We have to get away, this isn't looking good for us at all!" 'Miss Merry' cried out, reaching for her companion's hand. The other woman had stood rooted to the spot, her face shining with tears.

"This isn't supposed to happen at all!" Her hands sprang to her face, combing through her hair. Then she turned to Caesar, teeth bared murderously.

"What did you do to them?" She shouted, and Caesar could not have imagined the sight of the fires of hell burning in the background.

"I...I was testing the newest product SMILE on them!" He hurriedly said, lest the woman tried to attack him with her sword. If she had done that to Monet, who was a logia and thus should not even have been harmed by a Captain of all things, then he was in danger. "But I hadn't finished yet..."

"SMILE?" Caesar whimpered as her Haki-claden sword was pointed right at his neck. "You tested a half-developed drug on them?"

"Oh my god, the artificial Zoan project..." 'Miss Merry' gasped. "I thought you were trying to make them giants!"

"I...I was!" Caesar snarled. "But do you really think I could achieve something that hasn't been done for over three hundred years? I would rather do something that no one has tried before! I was going to administer an anti-Devil Fruit drug in two weeks because it didn't seem to work, but...Shurorororo!" Caesar laughed, because his experiment was finally working and he had a product that Donquixote Doflamingo would value above all else and the weapon was perfect, it was so perfect he couldn't believe it—

THWACK!

Caesar could feel a bruise forming on his cheek. No wonder, for the swordswoman had slapped him with a rough and callused palm.

"These were children! Civilians who should never have seen war! Children who should never have been taken out of their islands in the first place!" The Marine officer roared, her eyes welling up with tears.

Caesar looked at her in confusion. So what if they were? Had they not seen the terror and destruction that wars left? Had they not seen the battle-scarred grounds of once green fields?

And if they were civilians, then they would have been caught up either way. Famine. Terrorism. Destruction by warring pirates. Conscription. No one was innocent in this world for long.

"Then how shall they die?" He shouted back. "Would they die in battle against pirates? Be kidnapped and sold as slaves to the Celestial Dragons? Be hunted down just for being either a Marine or a pirate? This world has never been safe for as long as we _both_ remember."

"That doesn't give you the right to stamp out the will to live!" The Marine officer shrieked. "All human beings have a choice to decide how to live, and what to do with their lives! You can't just ride roughshod—"

"GET OUT!" Caesar felt a strong pair of arms, no _claws_ wrapped around him. He turned, facing another child who had taken a mammal zoan—some freakish creature of half-boy, half fox. _Was that the boy who had eaten the artificial vulpine Zoan fruit then?_

" **H** _e_ l **p** _me_!" The artificial zoan sobbed. "I can't help—g _rragh_!" The mouth of the child widened enormously to show sharp fangs, and Caesar could feel pain bloom in his upper body as the child took a bite off his shoulder. Adrenaline sang through his blood as he tried to shake off the boy's strong grip, only to flounder miserably in vain as the grasp held firm.

"Caesar!" He could hear one voice cry out. "I'm going to shoot your cuffs. Once I have done so, you bloody well neutralize the drug that turned these kids into Zoan users!"

"Shurorororo! Of course, of course." _Not._ As if Caesar was that stupid.

Once he felt strength returning to his body, Caesar rapidly turned to gas, all the while cackling. These Zoans were famous for having one common weakness, and the gas that Caesar used was specially tailored to getting rid of them.

"Shurororo! **Nenshokei: Miok Gas** " Caesar concentratesd the flammable gas in the area, surrounding the children and the women while keeping himself safely out of reach.

"Shit! Told you it was a bad idea!" The Marine Officer hissed out. But Caesar Clown couldn't care less for her own opinons, as he took out a match, and threw it at the surrounding atmosphere. With this, the whole tunnel would be cooked, and he could make his way out of fear free from further interference.

The air exploded, carbon dioxide and water causing the air inside to suddenly become stuffy as the atmosphere was rapidly deoxygenated. Caesar could barely make out their figures through the smoke, but he could guess the result. With the dangerous experimental humans and the two witches dead, there won't be anyone stopping him from making his own escape—

" _Where do you think you're going, Caesar?"_ Monet's hands were gripping him. Shit, if Doflamingo discovered that the experiments were a bust, then he'll be in trouble.

 _"Oh I'm not her, if that's what you're thinking of."_ Another hand had tightened around him, and Caesar gasped in dismay.

"I don't know what you're talking about." Caesar quickly replied, shivering as the temperature appeared to rapidly decrease even with the lack of logia powers.

 _" **Why, don't you know me? I'm Ja**_ — **cob."** Now that Caesar didn't have the weariness brought about by the sea-stone, he could recognize that voice. **  
**

"Oh gods, it's you." Who could have forgotten the one who had driven him down the path of frustration and impatience and idiocy that was the Marine Science Department? "You're the one who—"

"Before we get on our own moral high horses, let me remind you that you gave me the license to do what I want given that the children are rescued." Wind suddenly blew through the tunnel, causing the smoke to dissipate.

Caesar's eyes widened. The children had all returned back to their original forms, with no sign of their previous transformation apparent. And the two witches had no visible burn marks, though the frail one was breathing deeply.

The Marine officer pushed up her glasses, glinting brightly in the dark tunnel.

"Fair enough. I shall not intervene for this man then." The two lackeys seemed to straighten up, before collapsing on the ground. The civilian bent down, checking their pulse, before shaking her head in reply to the unspoken question that the Marine officer gave her.

"They're both dead."

"I see. Now then, how shall I deal with you, you shameless scumbag who just tried to _kill us all_." The fires of hell that danced merrily in the background stood in sharp contrast to the cruel bloodthirsty smirk that spread across the Marine officer's face.

Caesar whimpered in dismay.


	25. Law and Justice

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Punk Hazard looks to be finally reaching its conclusion!
> 
> While Oda has given off several 'bombs' in terms of plot development during the past few weeks, I'm happy to say that the story is still in line with canon! I've tried to give everyone ample time, but I don't want another Dressarosa (aka time spent on certain characters, while others are neglected). What are your thoughts on how the newest chapters could develop? I'm especially excited by the upcoming Four Emperors Arc, but I have a sneaking suspicion that Shanks might be the one to die. (We all know Oda's planning on killing someone important, and I really don't want it to be a member of the Straw Hat Crew. It's going to be another Ace episode again.)
> 
> Have you guys wondered why Smoker /Kitsuen has not been given a POV yet? There's something suspicious about this logia user, that's for sure...:)
> 
> And Jacob, is, as always, lurking behind the scenes, though he is not Jaguar D. Saul. Caesar is heavily beaten up, as promised. And we see Law A) Obsessed with Medical Equipment, and B) Really hating the Hippocratic Oath. Fun times indeed!

"Over here!" The airship landed with barely a bump, a testament to the navigator's ability to transfer her experience in steering normal ships (as well as the general crew) to other modes of transport.

"FLYING SHIP!" the boys crowed, starry-eyes locked onto the flying vessel. Nami could spot the two adults standing behind them. One easily familiar, one rather difficult to place.

"Permission to board?" Tashigi was practically vibrating in her position with frustration and painfully maintained tolerance. No wonder, boarding a ship full of pirates in order to rescue kidnapped children. But Nami respected the woman; it took guts to disobey the orders one was given in order to do what was right. It was nice to see that at least this particular officer did not turn out to be an outright monster like the others were.

(Nami could not bear the thought of _Bell-mere,_ or at least a proxy of her, killing whole islands.)

Nami hastily calculated the amount of weight. Thankfully, none of them had grown larger than the average adult, so she could easily make a rough estimation. Around twenty to thirty children, two females, a body...

 _Wait a minute._ "Huh?" She peered at the beaten-up, heavily bruised figure that had been dismissively piled into a heap of flesh. "That's weird. Isn't that-"

"Caesar Clown. That's sea-stone, so get some non Devil-Fruit users to lug him up." Answered Usopp, who was busy assessing their new passengers. Then he froze, his jaw dropping to the ground.

"Got him." Thatch experimentally lifted the unconscious criminal scientist, before stopping.

"Feels lighter than I expected."

"I would be surprised if you hadn't." Smoker answered, chugging on _probably_ the fifth cigar. "The Marine Science Department were able to get a good balance between effectiveness and weight."

"Sir, may I assume that we are in an alliance?" Tashigi asked, saluting Smoker as soon as the last of the children had boarded the airship. "Otherwise, I would prepare to arrest them."

 _"What?"_ Squawked the Whitebeard Pirates as one.

" _Temporary_ alliance, Sniper." Smoker corrected her, as a collective sigh of relief hissed out. "Similar to our position about the Straw Hats."

"You're not the typical Marine, are you?" Thatch commented as he sat on the bruised figure. Nami might have felt a twinge of sympathy for him were it not for the fact he was probably the one who caused the massive explosion. And she still remembered what he did to the kids. Or his secretary for that matter!

"Hmph." Smoker grunted. "If I actually cared to count the number of times I've had to deal with Straw Hat helping the world at large, it far outweighed the times that Straw Hat was a pain in the posterior."

"What do you mean, pain in the ass?" Ace shot back. "How was Luffy—"

"Alabasta." An image of Smoker being thrown through several walls along with Luffy's brother was enough to make Nami choke with giggles. "Loguetown, before that."

"What happened at Loguetown?" Asked Jiro in confusion as Zoro snickered.

"To make the story simple—Luffy was about to be executed, saved by _lightning,_ got captured by him, and saved by a passing _Dragon._ " Sanji flicked a finger with each point at Smoker, who grumbled and looked away. "What I'm more interested in is actually why you proposed this, Smoker. You're more of the kind who would try to do everything himself first, and the last time round it was pretty unofficial for an alliance."

Which was true, come to think about it. The alliance had been initiated by Trafalgar Law, only for Luffy to modify its terms to a _friendship pact_.

_"Just a heads up guys! You don't have to bow your heads to us ever again! Or kneel! Being in an alliance means...being friends!" Luffy delivered the half-assed explanation with a cheerful smile._

_"Not even close!" Trafalgar Law, still trying to retrieve the dregs of his dignity shot back, even as those who had been in Punk Hazard shared a giggle at the poor image-maintenance he was trying to carry out._

_No one was safe from Luffy's influence. They could all attest to that._

Come to think about it, when they were rescuing their captain from Marineford, Zoro and Usopp had caught no trace of Trafalgar Law. Would he still be allies with them, given the rapid changes of events? Nami was slightly worried; Trafalgar Law had been an excellent ally ( _read: friend, minion and general tagalong_ ) throughout the quest for One Piece. Given that the current versions of them had not met since Sabaody, how was Luffy going to form the alliance in the first place?

"It's my choice on who I ally with. That's all there is to it." Smoker cryptically replied. Nami arched an eyebrow. Something was not right with how Smoker had phrased it. Add that to the suspicious behavior that he had been exhibiting thus far, she was tempted to further question him, only for something else to capture her attention.

For one, Usopp had not spoken at all since spotting their newest series of passengers. For another, he was visibly wilting under the glare that the other woman was giving him.

"Usopp." A quiet cool retort rang out as curious onlookers hastily took several steps back from what looked like a growing scene of domestic violence. The calm before the storm, if Nami were more poetic.

"Hi, it's nice to see you?" Their sniper wrung his hands as he nervously backed away. The woman advanced towards him, her fists clenched, one raised at his head.

"You left me." Nami could practically feel the temperature drop a few degrees at the frigidity of her tone. Wordlessly, Usopp raised his hands in a conciliatory manner, only to wince as the other woman's eyes narrowed dangerously.

"I'm sorry. I truly am sorry for abandoning you." He quietly said. "I wasn't intending to be killed."

"Evidently." She replied. "I would have been more angry at you, if you had _intentionally_ left me on the wedding altar." For once, Sanji did not appear distressed and about to defend the woman against another man who had harmed her. Instead, he was leaning against the railing, watching the scene with weary eyes.

 _He knows as well as I do that we have no right to intervene in this._ Nami thought as the other woman tilted her head back, her nostrils flaring.

"Jinbe once told me that our captain wanted to _die_ after his brother had sacrificed his life for him." She softly whispered. "what you did was even worse— _how did you think he would react to seeing his closest crew members dead_?"

"...We made a mistake." Usopp answered, closing his eyes, bowing his head. "We were more focused on rescuing him. Dying **was** not on our schedule."

"I know. But the cost was way too high, at least for him. Luffy has never dealt with losing his precious people, his nakama very well." She said, even as she leveled a glare at all of the former Straw Hat Pirates. Nami felt as though she had been soundly rebuked with her eyes alone, and she wasn't the only one, judging from how Zoro had flinched even when he was asleep on deck.

The woman finally sighed, raking her hands through her hair. "It wasn't just him. Usopp, I forgave you a long time ago for skipping our wedding to rescue your captain." A shy yet bittersweet smile spread across her face, lovely and yet heartbreaking. "But you should have never left him alone."

"Hold on!" Haruta, one of Whitebeard's Commanders interrupted as she held out a palm. 'What do you mean, when _Ace_ died." There were similar expressions of confusion and shock upon the faces of those surrounding them. Marco in particular had turned grey; Ace was blankly staring in horror at the woman.

Oh, they did not tell them. No wonder.

The grown, bitter woman that _was_ the former master of Syrup Village grimly smiled.

"It's best that I explain. Hand me a large plate and some sake. Don't bother about the quality, I don't quite need it to be good."

* * *

_"Was it alright for me to be born?"_

_"I can't be the strongest man in the world forever..."  
_

_"Thank you all for loving me..."_

_"Jinbe! Take Ace's little brother with you!"_

"Oi! I'm coming in whether you're ready or not!" Whitebeard jolted as a clear and distinctive North Blue voice rang out across the landscape.

He had been sitting in that field for what seemed like days, months even. A replay of events that had never happened. Could never happened. He didn't know what was truth, and what were illusions. But Whitebeard had never forgotten what existed on the outside, even as he saw the death of his family and his sons repeatedly.

Whitebeard knew that his sons were waiting for him. And he refused to give up.

The bright flash of metal, and the constantly replaying events ( _memories? illusions? reality?)_ shattered into tiny pieces. The source? A katana striking through the center.

"A hallucinatory cocktail designed to immobilize one's muscular system and distort one's sense of time and reality." The voice pronounced with disgust lacing his tone. A lanky man poked his head through the hole that his sword had made. "Impressive, but I've dealt with worst drugs."

"Who are you?" He rasped out, the effect of shouting for several hours taking its toll on him.

"One victim of an extremely pushy reindeer, if that actually makes sense to you." The cheeky brat answered as he lifted one foot into the area.

"Can you move? No, probably not." He muttered to himself. "I've gotten rid of most of the drug, but you'll need to do the hard part yourself."

Whitebeard gave him an incredulous look, complete with arched eyebrow. The man huffed, scratching at the back of his furry spotted hat.

"This is a drug-induced hallucination. I could give a far more detailed explanation, but simply put, I'm not allowed to do anything beyond breaking the hallucination. And in the flicks I've watched, you can probably do it yourself anyway."

"How exactly?" Whitebeard growled. Because he had tried to break the illusion. And his efforts evidently weren't successful.

"You're a 'Quake' man, are you not?" The brat rolled his eyes.

"That would require me to be able to move in the first place, brat." Whitebeard said wryly. The fellow had the gall to tut disapprovingly, shaking his head.

"Fair enough." A sharp, evil grin on par with the time Ace was still on his daily killing operation spread across the face of the kid from North Blue.

"Back-up plan it is. Enjoy the ride!" He whipped out his katana and threw it at the jar of sake barely inches away from Whitebeard. The world around them started to bend, distort, and warp around the edges, creeping ever closer to to their location.

"You cheeky brat!" Even as Whitebeard growled, the boy continued to cackle with laughter _._

* * *

"Ro?" Rosinante looked up as his boss sat down next to him. The various Whitebeard Commanders had crept to various spots, still filled with shock over what they had heard from the mouth of his _time-travelling_ boss.

Time-travelling. Dear gods of the sea.

"Hmm?" He said, making space ( _distancing_ , his mind echoed traitorously) from the woman who had beaten all laws of physics and common sense. Not to mention the fact that she had hid that, only choosing to serve the customers with a warm smile without revealing the depths beneath.

"I'm sorry for keeping this from you, and Law. But we had to keep it close to our chest. There would have been terrible consequences if we hadn't kept silent."

"Hmm." He was determinedly not answering in words. Because Rosinante did not know how to feel about the fact that his lady boss had looked after the two of them when she could have been rescuing others. Or herself, if what he read between the lines of the argument that had taken place between her and her fiance was correct.

Former fiance, as it turned out. Apparently, she did not take him abandoning her at the altar very lightly. Pettiness aside, there was the fact that he died before he could apologise. And was revived.

A thought occurred to him.

"Merry?" Rosinante asked quietly. "Was I supposed to die?" He turned to see his lady boss covering her face with her hands, revealing no part of her face to him. So she was also trying to hide her own feelings from him. Not that it mattered; her body emanated _fatigue_ and _sorrow_ like a shimmering lantern after all.

"...If captain wasn't walking by, then yes. You would have." She finally said, after a few minutes of silence. "He was good friends with Law, in the future. And he knew how important you were to Law. And the only thing that was stopping him was the fact that he didn't know how to look after you. I, who was sealed for a very long time, was his answer to the conundrum that he faced."

"Sealed?" Rosinante asked, trying to ignore the fact that his own existence was in question on that day. He was _that_ close to dying? And to think it was only the altruistic motives of a pirate that he had survived past Minion Island. Were he the man fifteen years back, he would never have believed that a pirate could have have been that selfless.

But he had. He had Law, and Merry, and Shakky (even when the woman still scared him witless) and Rayleigh (he could still remember the sleepless nights, the bright office where Sengoku pored over papers, attempting to succeed in capturing Gold Roger and his men, and each failed plan where officers were wheeled into the Marine Hospital after each clash) and maybe even Kuma. His circle of friends had downgraded in respectability, but when he tried to find his platoon mates, they had honorable promotions to go with their dismal deaths.

Even if they were the worst scum of the sea, he could not think of Merry being part of that. She was always so gentle with others, polite and warm towards others. That was the first time he had seen her reveal a grudge.

How well did he know her then? What had necessitated her being sealed away?

"I was not quite in the right mind to make decisions." She hesitated, before revealing her face. Tears welling up in the eyes, tracks running down her cheeks.

"I hated the world for taking my fiance away just because of 'justice'." She shook her head. "I have never heard of such an empty value of justice. What justice?" She hollowly laughed. "It's always a matter of which side wins the propaganda battle. And those who win are the ones who write the history."

Rosinante winced, because that had come close to what he and Doffy had thought during their worst moments between mobs.

_"Pirates are **evil**? The Marines are **righteous**? These terms have always changed throughout the course of history! Kids who have never seen peace and kids who have never seen war have different values! Those who stand at the top determine what's wrong and what's right! This very place is neutral ground! Justice will prevail, you say? But of course it will! **Whoever wins this war becomes justice!** "_

That had rung throughout those who had watched the broadcast from Marineford. People discussed it behind closed doors. In quiet bars on the wayside. Even in the market place, when Merry and he were looking for supplies, he had heard the speech being discussed. Implications and all.

"I don't think that anyone could agree on their forms of justice." Sengoku had frequently rested upon Justice in order to justify some of the deeds he was forced to carry out on the behalf of the World Government. Rosinante could not blame him; it was often a choice between life and death. On the other hand, he called 'Absolute Justice' bullshit, for there was no reason to go after others just to keep a secret for the Celestial Dragons.

"But I believe justice should never be limited to what they think is right or wrong. Or that others have the right to control one's life." For Rosinante had seen the slave auction houses, and while not actively tearing them down, he had passed down information that could help free some slaves, a little at a time.

"You sound like quite the Revolutionary yourself when you say that." Merry laughed, wiping away her tears. "I think that's true as well." She looked at him thoughtfully.

"Hey, when I asked something of Law, he instantly rejected me." She pouted at the memory, and Rosinante couldn't _quite_ bury the humor and started to chuckle. "Oh come on!"

"What did you ask him then?" There was a twinkle in Merry's eye that heralded _extremely bad luck._

"Well—"

* * *

The back of his metaphorical neck abruptly chilled.

"Brat, where the hell are we?" Whitebeard called out as they continued to trudge across the path towards reality.

F—ing hell, he did not ask for this when all he wanted was to stare and watch as Punk Hazard went down in a blizzard of flames. Even when he had spotted the gaseous monster (which he _so_ wanted to dissect), he had been thwarted by a stupid _tanuki_ with a conscience.

And now he was stuck grabbing this guy out. Why was he stuck with this.

 _Think of the expensive equipment you saw lying next to this guy._ Yes, the latest defibrillators, catheters, and all those sharp, surgical knives...Were he more short-sighted, he would have stolen them all and hide to look over those interesting machines...

"How did you manage to come here?" Whitebeard interrupted his thought process. Bother, and he was getting to the good part about that iron lung. So sophisticated...

"My Devil Fruit makes me a 'Free Modification Human'." Trafalgar Law said testily. "This would be its second level."

"Second level?" Whitebeard asked, a tone of curiosity in his voice. "What second level?"

"The old hag called it 'Awakening', but it's a bit different from what she described than that." Because he had not even heard of things like an 'Awakening' to begin with. As well documented as the Ope Ope no Mi, there was little about its abilities. Only legends. And he was a man who dealt with fact and not opinion. Past experiences taught him that rumours only had the barest hint of truth, but it was up to the general public to search the reality behind the lies.

Pity the rest of the world was apathetic as f—.

"Like for example, my first level allows me to manipulate objects within a room as well as switch around the hearts of others. But on a higher level, I'm able to open up more things." Best not to go into too much detail. After all, it could be used against him. Law did not fancy dying just because someone wanted to get his Devil Fruit.

He had too much of that from _Doflamingo,_ thank you very much.

"Hmph." The Emperor grunted. "Then you know of other examples as well?"

"Probably." He was quite sure that there had to be other secrets lying behind Doflamingo's powers. The Ito Ito no Mi allowed the user to manipulate strings, which if what he read correctly, did not involve clones. Which meant that there had to be another aspect that he could have failed to consider about Doflamingo.

Law needed to do a bit more research. Wouldn't do to let that bastard escape, after all. Law had planned to use Punk Hazard as a way of getting Doflamingo cornered, before blackmailing him into leaving the Warlords. Unfortunately, that devil woman had came to them, and Cora-san was _so_ soft-hearted that he agreed, and there was no way that Law was going to allow Cora-san to be in danger without him nearby to _flatten_ him for being stupid.

 _(Of course, Law would patch him up after that. Part of the reasons why Law had gone into surgery was_ because _Cora-san got injured so often._ _)_

"That old hag would probably know." Because the owner of _Merry's Bar_ had more information about the Devil Fruits than the book itself. If anything else, she was useful in the information network that was part of a bartender's lifestyle. Case in point, Punk Hazard's location itself. Law valued the network she maintained, even if he did not like her. Period.

Merry was a scary woman all right. An ommivore with the experience of tasting meat, hidden among the herbivores. Sweet and gentle to those who know her, but Law could spot someone who was grieving and _angry_ at the world.

_(He was one as well. Hatred behind smiles, a joke to cover killing intent.)_

As an expert in such matters, it was his duty to guard Cora-san against that menace of a woman. If left alone, Cora-san would succumb to her wiles, and Law _would_ follow him to the depths of hell itself. Were he a more honest person, Law might have even acknowledged that the woman did Cora-san a world of good. However, he could never forget _those claws,_ the shiny steel beneath smooth silk.

"Whitebeard, we'll be continuing on this path until we—" The whole world _jolted,_ (Law would never admit that he had let out a girlish scream at that point), and the world rolled and the ground shook, and Law scowled at the ceiling above.

Probably Merry's fault.

* * *

"F—." Was the thought on Thatch's mind as he walked over to where Marco was sitting, no, slumped against the railing. "This _has_ been going on for quite a while. What's going on, man?"

"..." Marco was all but dead to the world by this time.

"Marco, Ace is _safe_ and _alive._ Well, I'm alive too. In any case, whatever happened in that future probably would not happen again! So get a hold of yourself, idiot!"

Marco curled up into a ball.

Ace wandered over, equally displeased at Marco's behaviour. He nudged him, making him roll away a little before stopping. Tilting his head to one side, he stared at Marco-ball intensely. Then, reaching some unknown conclusion, Ace proceeded to roll Marco all around the floor.

As hilarious as it appeared, Thatch _should_ put a stop to it. Maybe. Hmm. Might let it go on a bit longer.

"No, Thatch." Marco finally said, his face a grey pallor. "I completely deserve that. To think that we could have _actually..._ "

"Take that thought out of your head." Thatch shook his head. "What would have been the point of crying over what's gone?"

"If Goku had not intervened..."

"From what I can tell, there were plenty of events that did not match up." Ace interjected. "For one, Sabo appearing while Luffy was mid-route. For another, _Moby Dick 3's_ destruction. And even before that, things were **different**. So whatever happened in that future _cannot_ be applied to what we are experiencing in the _here and now_."

"And didn't you hear what they said?" Thatch pointed out, "They can't predict the turning point as much as we can! So it's not as though things are completely useless in the future!" Thatch wanted to say more, only for Marco to hold out a palm.

"No, it hasn't anything to do with that. Can't you see? I'm not a _captain._ My kind of power is meant for supporting, not for leading. I can't be sure that I will be able to protect anyone." Marco's face fell. "It's Goku who was busy baring his neck for us!"

"We. never. asked. you. to protect us from harm and danger!" Ace groaned.

"We're pirates. We look out for each other. But that doesn't mean that we baby ourselves, requiring our captain to get ourselves out of a tangle without injury!" Thatch shook his head in bewilderment. "Pops knows this. You should know this as well!"

"But—"

"Remember what we promised? Live with no regrets." A familiar voice spoke out. Thatch looked aside, where their ship-brothers had been gradually surrounding them.

"Yeah! And it's not like you expect us to pull you out of the ocean—" Namur thumped Marco's back. "Unlike this idiot!" He pointedly glanced towards Ace, who scowled.

"Hey!"

"Or that time when we blew up that bar with the blonde bartender, and you had to fly at full speed in order to grab our asses to safety."

"That's different!" Marco shouted back. "I don't know how I _can_ substitute for Pops!"

"Not like anyone's asking you to, _idiot._ " Haruta banged Marco's forehead before huffing. "What's more important is that we look out for each other."

"That's right! We're _brothers,_ we drink together, raid together—"

"Sleep together, _totally_ in the non-suggestive manner—"

" _Oh god, the images that just come up once you say that_ —"

"Guys, keep it clean here..."

"Anyway," Vista coughed, twirling his mustache, "I, for one, think that you're a good leader."

"Yeah! You're the one who keeps flying from ship to ship to pass on messages—"

"Announce shift changes—"

"Generally keep the booze in the infirmary—"

"Shouldn't it be _out_ of the infirmary?"

"It's Pops, what do you expect? The ship shall know no peace while Pops is dry. "

"True, true."

"Guys," Marco's expression is heartbreaking to say the least.

"What we're all trying to say is." As one, the surrounding commanders cleared their throat.

" **Who cares if you screw up! We're all in this, like it or not!"** That, Thatch believed, was the straw that broke the camel's back, as tears flowed freely from Marco's eyes. Silently, Thatch offered a shoulder, and quickly felt his collar growing wet.

But that smile on Marco's face? Probably the most grateful Thatch had ever seen.

Unfortunately, the heartwarming movement ended with a _blast_ that shook the air around them.

Marco's face was set in a determined expression, and he proceeded to bark out orders to stabilize the ship; find out if it could get faster to the _Moby Dick;_ and to see if they would be able to ensure further co-operation from the Marine unit which had temporarily allied with them.

As Thatch hurried to the place where the Marines were gathered, Ace sneakily gave him a thumbs up. Thatch smirked, returning the gesture. Time waited for no pirate, even if he was worried as a busy little bumblebee about the welfare of Pops.

* * *

Kuzan was exhausted as hell. Three days since the start of the battle, and even if his stamina still kept him up and running, it was no pleasure to stay without a nap for the last few days. Not to mention the lack of sleep.

Speaking of rest, his own colleague appeared to be tiring as well. Not surprising considering the amount of effort that Sakazuki had expended on keeping his magma from cooling. Why? Oh yeah. Kuzan was still keeping **"Sub Zero"** on in order to freeze his opponent's nerves, forcing the other admiral to consistently keep part of his hand alight to prevent heat loss.

Kuzan was also having a spot of difficulty. Having a burn on his arm heavily hindered his movement when he was trying **"Ice Block: Partisan** ", and he can't quite feel his leg after Akainu had burnt the nerves.

Kuzan dodged as another magma blast. He was seriously considering if it was worth the effort to keep fighting with this hard-headed zealot of justice. But he remembered Ohara. How an island had _died_ due to the World Government, and how Sakazuki had brutally executed the civilians without mercy just on the barest suspicion that someone on board might be an archaeologist.

He could not allow this guy to become Fleet Admiral. His battered conscience demanded it, even as he could feel the toll of battle on his own body.

Then, the ground shook. Kuzan glanced upwards as his own **Haki** cried out in alarm. To his surprise, a _flying ship_ was currently on top of the two of them.

There was a silent moment of truce as Sakazuki and he stared as the ship rocked from side to side, the result of air currents being suddenly disrupted. Then, Sakazuki's eyes narrowed.

"This place is supposed to have been secure!" He snarled, disappearing in the next second. Kuzan immediately collapsed. A time for a breather if he ever saw one. But the back of his neck tingled, and out of curiosity, he reached inward for the sixth sense that was **Observation Haki _,_** and paused. That was strange. He could detect newly-made Vice Admiral Smoker on board that ship.

While he was not exactly close to Smoker (their paths were very different, Smoker being so far from headquarters and he being stationed, and they had only been grouped together recently after the farce that was the so-called 'War of the Best'. Last he checked, Smoker was busy preparing to be stationed in the New World. What was he doing here?

The ground rocked yet again with another series of explosions. Great, so apparently abandoned bases still had working bombs. And apparently, flying ships. That relied on balloons.

Huh, the Marine Science Department had mentioned the usage of airships in transportation. Something about being banned due to its flammability?

Kuzan was just about to stand up again, when his vision appeared to spin. The fact that some purple thing was emitting flames and heat didn't help either.

 _Joy,_ he thought. _Death by smoke inhalation._ And the world went black.


	26. Missing Link

_"So your alias is...Merry?" She was Merry now. Merry Merry quite contrary...It suited her. And she could remember her old friend that way._

_Kaya's parents were alive. Kaya was happily living in Syrup Village. Kaya would have wanted to save her parents._

_Merry could not. Because Kaya's parents were not Merry's. And there were greater things at stake than the lives of two adults and the happiness of one girl. Because if Kaya's parents had not died, then Usopp would not have approached Kaya. If Usopp had no one to turn to after his mother Banchina had died, then Usopp would be alone.  
_

_Even when Usopp had left her waiting on the wedding altar, he was still her friend. And Kaya needed Usopp as much as Usopp needed Kaya. There was no need for Merry to be there, even if in the deepest corners of her heart, she wanted to save her parents. But how could she stop that accident? Usopp's crew mate had still died, despite Captain Luffy's efforts to rescue his nakama at the cost of losing him. And Kaya could not bear the thought of being partially responsible for causing Usopp's mother to die in rescuing her from her illness, let alone being unable to save her parents._

_There was no role for Merry to play on Syrup Village. On the other hand, there was a need for both a caretaker and guardian here on this ship._

_"Yes, Captain...Saru." The captain was also going by another alias, but unlike hers, it was slippery. It was his name. But it was not, because they had sacrificed their names and their identities for this chance to emerge in the past in order to save their future._

_Just as there was no need for two Kayas of Syrup Village, there was no need for two of Monkey D. Luffy to exist. And there was no chance that her captain would deny his younger self of an adventure he rightfully deserved._

_"Shishishi!" Her captain ruffles her hair, knocking her fringe askew. "That's a great name!" He hurriedly puts his hand down as he was given a frigid glare...and something digging into his neck._

_"Do. Not. Intrude. Into. This. Area." She warned, putting her scalpel back where it belonged. Saru winces as the metal instrument glints in the sunlight. They both know that it would not hurt him; it did not stop Kaya_ —Merry, _her name now was, from pointing it at him._

_"...Sorry. My bad." She nervously backs away, but Saru wears a grin of forgiveness._

_"It's okay, Merry. I understand." When she was Kaya, she had a habit of taking sharp metallic instruments wherever she went. Her paranoia has been built over years of constant attack, it was no wonder that she had retained her reflexes.  
_

_...She had to cut back on that. A bartender did not kill as often as a pirate.  
_

* * *

_"So...this is your new bar?" Saru surveys the dining area. A thick mahogany slab served as the counter top, with beer taps for the traditional rum and mead. Seats that were situated close to the table meant that people could choose to seat cross-legged or upright. Different kinds of cocktail glasses were slotted behind the bar at Merry's eye level, while the alcohol wholesaler's wares are left behind thick shatterproof glass. Bourbon from North Blue; Old Parr; Maker's Mark; even Red-haired Shanks' loved sake from West Blue._

_"This is quite a selection." The Sabaody wholesaler had been impressed; Merry still felt a tinge of pride in that._

_"Thank you. I had Kuma help me carry them back." At this, Saru jolts in his place. His head jerkily moving to face her, jaw dropped closer to the floor than could be humanly possible, and his eyes wider than a goldfish._

_"Kuma? You mean Bartholomew Kuma?" Saru exclaims. "Why? How?"_

_"It was a coincidence." Not. She had intentionally planned their trajectories to intersect. Because Kuma was not only a Warlord, but a member of the Revolutionary Army, one of the three groups that had survived to become a Power. She needed a way to gather intelligence, and Kuma was one way to get some information from Marineford. If she could hear things from Baltigo, then even better._

_"Beginning a fishing expedition, huh?" Saru sighs, but his lips curl up into a smile._

_"I hope for big 'nes, Captain." Merry says, cat smile prominently displayed. "I am your **soundboard.** I listen for intelligence, and relay it to you." Merry has mastered the art of walking into a crowd, differentiating between voices, ears open for any important source of information that could be of use to her captain. She can go to a city, and her senses automatically tune into any conversation within hearing distance._

_Merry's observation skills are useful even in such a noisy place in the bar. Two Marines with neater ties than the norm_ — _people from Marineford. North Blue accents attuned to Grand Line speak_ — _Strange, but their cuffs show that they are old timers that have retired to Sabaody. Members of Paradise dwellers who have retired before taking their chances in the New World._

_"How about that guy?" Saru gnaws on a chicken drumstick even as he talks; he has never lost his taste for talking while eating and Merry is sorely tempted to fill his next bite with ghost peppers. She might just do so the next time they meet. But Usopp had once told the story of how he had tossed chili peppers into the captain's meal at Arabasta, and the captain had continued to eat anyway. Effectiveness of spicy things is suspect.  
_

_"Which?"_

_"Traffy's...friend?" Saru tries to imitate her employee by putting his hands on both sides of his face, pointer finger sticking down in a poor imitation of the tassels from that strange hat that Ro wore._

_"Oh, Ro." Merry huffs. "He's so troublesome!"_

_"Huh?"_

_"He falls every few feet! He always drops the glasses! He can fund Lady's Night with the tips he gets from customers because he has to pay up every time he breaks something! He can't even cook to save his life as he keeps on catching on fire!" Merry shakes her head. "I have never seen anyone so prone to catching fire in my entire life, even when I met San_ —sorry, _Black Leg, for the first time!"_

_"Oh really?" Saru places his chin on top of his fist, lips twitching. "Is that why you like him?"_

_"Like him?" Merry huffs exasperatedly, "Who says?" She brushes against her nose, freezing at the tell._

_"You do ~" Saru sings, before dodging her attempt to box his ears. Merry hisses as he leaps away, vanishing with a calling of **Geppo** as he soars out of the bar._

_Merry leans back against the cupboard of her bar. Saru was teasing her, except he was the densest creature known to mankind. She, liking Ro? Far from it! He was clumsy and sometimes quiet and there was no expression on his face and he always tries to look cool but fails to do so and he kept Law off the psychopathic path and...and..._

_"Calm down." She says to herself. Urgh. Calm, one of Ro's favourite spells. Merry, stop thinking of him._

_The smell of smoke was wafting through her nostrils. Ignore it, it was just the wind..._

_She was overthinking this, was she? Anyway, she was probably too old for him._

_Still, she had an idea on how this would go with the young Law. Trafalgar, (she mentally referred to the older version by surname in order to keep things neater) would have stoically watched. On the other hand, Law would totally freak out if he even thought of 'Cora-san' in a romantic relationship._

_Looks like she had a new toy to play with now. Tee-hee!_

_"ARGH!" Merry rolled her eyes as she whipped out the fire extinguisher and balanced it over her shoulder. Then, she marched into the backroom to rescue Ro from his burning clothes. Again. For the third time this month._

_Sea gods give her patience._

* * *

Smoker claps his hands, calling his men to attention.

"Men, move out!" He orders, as though he is the director of this hastily put-together pantomime. His men quickly spread out toward the scattered Whitebeard Pirates, weapons in hand. Smoker is a natural at commanding; and the G-5, as unpredictable as they could be, understood the importance of following his directions. Like musicians in an orchestra, they follow the direction of his hands as they move into position, letting out cries of battle. Whitebeard's sons respond in kind.

Showtime.

* * *

Sakazuki surveyed the ongoing scene in front of him. The Marines were doing their duty in trying to arrest these scum, but they were evidently outclassed, judging from the pile of unconscious bodies near the poop.

They should have tried harder. Useless. Utterly useless for someone to wear the symbol of Justice on their backs. He would have to pull up their standards with extra training, even if these good-for-nothing creatures had no room for improvement.

Sakazuki extended his senses, searching for the commanding officer. Good, someone of Vice-Admiral caliber was fighting against Phoenix Marco, while another, roughly of Petty Officer level was fending off Vista of the Whitebeard Pirates. His eyes catch sight of a small burst of flame.

_Gold Roger's son was here._

Sakazuki leaps at him, arm melting into magma. This time, he would not fail. The age of Pirates started by this man, no, this _bastard's_ father had to end and Portgas D. Ace was at the heart of the problem. His demonic blood called for war and violence, both of which Sakazuki was determined to stop.

There was no room in this world for the never-ending strife and wars caused by the pirates. Sakazuki had tasted far too much of how these buccaneers had threatened the lives of innocent civilians for him to be convinced by those cowards of 'Moral Justice'. What morality could one practice when there was no Marines left to enforce it? These pirates were obsessed with bounties and being a threat, a constant reminder of the mortality of those who were innocent. How could they be allowed to continue?

Sakazuki had never forgotten what _that man_ had done to him.

" **Meigo!"** Sakazuki felt his hand bubbling, and within the blink of an eye, transformed it into magma. Letting out a cry, he thrusts his claw at Fire Fist Ace. The boy dodges, but he takes a few steps back and growls.

When Fire Fist was defending Straw Hat at Marineford, he had done the same thing as well. Sakazuki had questioned Garp the Fist and Sengoku, and found that it was a familial trait.

 _Blood will out._ Fire Fist curses, and screams **Dai Entei** as he blasts orange flames at Sakazuki. The admiral laughs, because the so-called hellish flames are but a cold breeze as compared to the burning heat of Sakazuki's own flesh and the wrath he feels towards these creatures of war.

"Did you forget what I told you at Marineford? _Our powers are in a relationship of superiority._ " He shoots a few fists at Fire Fist Ace, and as he dodges, the blasts go over the edge into the distant landscape. _No matter_ , Sakazuki thinks as he prepares another blow, he still had plenty to spare.

Huh? Sakazuki feels himself being catapulted off the ground by a collision with a flame-coated leg.

"Thanks for the save!" Fire Fist calls. A trill is heard as the Vice Admiral's opponent escapes the fracas momentarily to attack Sakazuki. The admiral growls, throwing a series of blows towards the First Division Commander of the Whitebeard Pirates.

" _Cooking is a gift from the gods."_ Who was that speaking? There was no soul that corresponded to the direction of that voice!

" _Spices are a gift from the devil."_ There was intense heat coming from near him, but Sakazuki. Could. Not. Move. Had Fire Fist managed to _duplicate_ himself?

" **Diable Jambe: Collier Strike!"** The wind was knocked out of Sakazuki as a violent kick was driven through the back of his neck.

 _Is this Fire Fist's doing?_ Sakazuki could still see the Second Division Commander cupping his hands at the corner of his eye. _No, the attack came from behind!_

There was a litany of curses spewing from his mouth as Sakazuki swung backwards. _It's that damn crew who invaded Marineford! Who the hell are they!_ Sakazuki swore as a few projectiles made their way towards him, and dodges the swinging set of handcuffs.

"Tch. Missed." The sniper from before yelps as he is caught by Sakazuki's grasp. But there is something wrong. Rather than the smell of burning flesh, it feels as though an unidentifiable liquid is escaping through his palm as the sniper whimpers in pain.

"Uso—" He hears another call out. _Liar?_ Sakazuki tightens his grip, and sees the sniper lose consciousness. Good. He releases the man, and turns his attention back to Fire Fist.

 _"You should never turn your back on another, you know?"_ Something breathes in his ear. Sakazuki feels the back of his neck chilled, strands of... _hair_ caressing his neck. He darts away, spinning round, but the one who had whispered vanished.

 _"Cien Fleur!"_ Hands surrounded him, grasping him with thin yet nimble fingers and there was hissing in his ear as he felt himself being twisted, bent, the rage of a thousand furies encapsulated in those pulsating nerves. Sakazuki scowls; he twists and turns, because dissolving into his base element did not work at all, but he feels weak.

There are sea stone cuffs around his wrist. When he had tried to strangle the sniper, those things must have gotten on him. _Shit._ Killing intent all around, anger driven by what he had done to their comrade, but they deserve it, they deserve _everything_ that he had thrown out against them—

 _"Clutch!"_ Sakazuki roars his rage into the heavens. It does not stop him from _falling, falling, falling_ —

* * *

"Did you kill him?" All movement on board the ship stops as the archaeologist releases the mad dog with a flurry of flower petals.

"...No." Robin answers, turning away from her newest victim. Her nerves are taut, strained as though the strings holding her together have been overstretched and about to snap. She has never felt this sadistic, wrathful and eager to _kill._ The Straw Hat Crew did not kill. They were symbols of hope; where the Marines crushed the dreams of others, they brought them back alive.

Yet she was on the verge of becoming as savage and ruthless as the one she held within her hands. As unforgiving as her former self, before she met Luffy and joined his crew.

"Robin." Usopp's fiance addresses her from the position she had taken besides their sniper. "It's okay. He's alive."

Usopp chokes out a "...How's that for the great Captain Usopp" in order to lighten up the situation but Robin could barely make out his words. It's hardly the occasion to laugh; they were in the middle of a battle even if it was hopelessly one-sided, yet others join in. They too are relieved that none of their comrades had died in the scuffle.

They are one crew. Even when their captain is gone, they still remain. Maybe that was what their captain had intended when he left them in order to surrender himself to the Marines.

Smoker's men start rolling themselves off the pile they had quickly created in those crucial few seconds between sensing Akainu's ascent and his arrival on their ship. It was the Vice Admiral's idea: to pretend to be fighting in order to throw off suspicion as to why he was co-operating with them; for Ace and Sanji to team up because they were fire users who had similar auras despite their different origins. Usopp had been their finisher, but he had been caught.

Robin's heart, if it still existed, had leaped out of her chest at that. After losing Luffy, she could not bear to lose another member of her crew again. Once, she could easily relinquish those whom she formerly called crew; now, she would not see another one die when she could help it.

Her devil fruit is too easy to recognize; it was not a tactically wise decision. Yet she had moved on instinct, crossing her arms in ready position as she grasped. Yet she felt something holding her back from crushing this man's spine, from twisting his neck. Were Robin more emotion-driven, she would have called it fate denying her this man's life. But Robin is far wiser than before, and she considers the last dredges of her conscience as being the key factor preventing her from taking a life.

"Robin!" She jerks out of her monologue, as her fellow crew mate snaps her fingers in front of her. Nami places her hand on her hip, but there is a knowing look in her eyes.

"It's fine. We're still here." She grasps Robin's own hands between her own, bending her face close to hers.

"We're still alive." And their pulses beat in time, glad at being here as a group.

There is a gaping hole in her chest. It was formed at Luffy's execution, but time and experience had muted the sharp pain.

Robin does not know if she was being ungrateful in thinking that maybe, _maybe_ it was time for them to move on.

"Oi, what shall we do with this guy?" Franky calls out, crossing his arms.

"Toss him over the railing! Aokiji's sleeping, and we might as well make use of that!" One of the Whitebeard Commanders reply.

"We still have the problem of them knowing that Robin-chwan and Smoker were here." Sanji comments, as Smoker lets out an confirmatory grunt.

Robin thinks of the fact that they are on _experimental ground._ With a known _gas logia_ conducting illegal experiments. On _Punk Hazard._

A brilliant, impossibly vicious idea blooms from the fertile compost heaps of her mind. As if he could hear her thoughts, Robin spots Franky visibly shivering.

"I have an idea."

"Four of the most terrifying words in existence." Franky winces, "You did a number on the family jewels the last time you smiled like that, sis."

"Robin-chwaaaaan! Even if you're smiling like the devil, you're still as lovely as ever~"

"Good grief, target brow." Zoro sighs, before giving one of his familiar slasher grins.

"Well, Robin? Share with us what you've just thought of."

* * *

"I somehow feel that we've become the bad guys." Nami cannily comments as she starts wrecking the place, courtesy of a few weather eggs.

"Doesn't matter, Mellorine!" Sanji had resumed his usual attitude of praising the fairer members of his crew while shooting off fiery shots in between phrases.

"Your crewmate did tell us to destroy as much of this crap as we can!" Ace snarks as he continues to set off explosions in the surrounding area.

"I mean like making everything that happened on this island appear to be a dream? That seems pretty harsh on them." Nami shrugs her shoulders. On the lazy admiral's side, icicles are already forming. Ace on the other hand appeared to be taking notes from Sanji about different temperatures in a gas light.

"The red part's actually the coldest, at 1070 degrees Fahrenheit or 800 degrees Centigrade." Sanji motions to the flame. "But on the other hand, it's easier to set things on fire with it. The part of the flame with the hottest temperature is actually here, on the inside because that is where you get the most complete combustion, and temperatures can go up to 1670 degrees Fahrenheit or 1400 degrees Centigrade."

"I see." Ace nodded, a smirk blooming across his face.

 _One pyrotechnic teaching another..._ Nami sighs, turning away from a situation that appeared to be turning even more wrong by the second. _Now I really don't want to know what Sanji is talking about, if I ever wanted to before._ There were practically flames in the background as the two shouted tips about increasing combustion rate and the flammability of different materials. Piles of mysterious objects were tossed into the growing campfire, eerily reminescent of the bonfire of Shandora.

Nami nearly choked. It was so peaceful in the past. They had thrown a campfire a few stories high despite the crazy lightning logia with the god complex, and had danced with sky wolves merrily while singing songs and telling stories as though it was a camping trip, rather than a means of getting warm and cooking meat outside the _Going Merry._ Gods, had they been so carefree? Where had that easygoing atmosphere gone?

"Everyone done?" At their nods, Nami drops the canister that Ka—Merry offered reluctantly. Still cruel, still prone to error, but they could not afford to be pinpointed as potential threats to the world. Even if they have to mislead two admirals into thinking that everything was a dream of Marineford, rather than the actual presence of Whitebeard Pirates.

Then again, would the Marines be interested in telling others? After all, they would be embarrassed if they had revealed the whereabouts of the kidnapped children. Not to mention that there was experimentation going right under the snouts of two people having a pissing contest.

* * *

" _Yohohoho, yohohoho~ Going off to deliver Binks' Sake..."_ Brook sang. Skies were clear (as much as they could be with the ongoing firestorm that were the battle of the two admirals.) and things were going peacefully.

"Flying ship!" Brook casts his eye-sockets (because he had no eyes—Skull Joke!) towards the familiar sight of the ship of Punk Hazard. It was nostalgic, and would he say it, _awe-inspiring_ to see the use of flight for a humanitarian mission. Too many a time had he seen things flying from the sky to deliver death from above! To think that something that used to inspire wonder, and for him, it was inspiring, because there was no such technology fifty years ago and it was still a new-fangled thing that had to be seen to believed, could be so dangerous! Well, Lion-chan was also exquisite in its flight capability, and as Franky would put it—SUPER efficient!

Was that a bird? Another flying ship, perhaps one of Franky's robots? Fireworks? Oh how he loved them! They used to shoot those things whenever there was a festival, and the Straw Hats loved festivals. Perhaps all had gone well.

A white Marine coat.

The deepest chill that could be felt through the underworld went through Brook's spine, and dare he say it, soul. No, it could not be. Nononono. His finger joints creaked as he clenched boney fists (Skull Joke! Yohohoho!）and a haunting tune in B Flat Minor with plenty of discordant chords resounded about his ear drums.

"YOU!" Brook clacked his jaw, "What are you doing here!" For this man should have stayed well away from him if he had known how unwanted he was.

"Missed me?" The Soul King narrowed his eye sockets _,_ stood on the railing of _Moby Dick._ With a burst of strength, he leapt upward, staying in the sky, for he would not wished to hurt Whale-kun while he battled with this incessant foe who had betrayed the Straw Hats so terribly.

 _You are but your soul. And your soul is filthy and needs the cleansing of the underworld!_ **"Aubade** **Coup Droit"** With a single thrust, his sword _blasted_ the air in front of him, straight towards the Fleet Admiral. With a flick, the admiral snickered, dodging the blow as he jumped with an application of _Geppo,_ before sending the blow sideways towards Punk Hazard.

"There. That should pacify that lot at least." With that, the Fleet Admiral faced his opponent once more. "I really hoped that it wouldn't come to this. Ah well. Let me make it simple."

But Brook refused to listen. For what came from this man were but words, and Brook knew above all else that sticks and stones may break one's bones, but words, especially from one who had plotted his way to the top, had a more damaging effect than whatever this man was able to dish out. And thus he would not listen. He would not. **"Gavotte Bond en Avant!"**

Propelled by the force of his attack, Brook lunged at the Fleet Admiral.

"Boring. **Soru.** " With that, Brook was flung aside, cut open as though the Fleet Admiral's foot was a pair of scissors and he was a simple piece of paper. But Brook was no ordinary man, and even if this man's blow was able to hurt him, he was still in the game.

" _What keeps me alive in this world is neither bodily organs nor muscles. It's my SOUL!_ _ **Hanauta Sancho: Yahazu Giri."**_ His sword cane sang throughout the air with an unearthly pitch, screeching yet harmonizing with the wintery air that Admiral Aokiji's various attacks had produced. Coating his sword with his soul, he started slashing the man, no, _monster,_ with elegant accuracy and deadly speed. Because he was just bones (and perhaps even less than that, for he was not quite clear on how their bodies had reformed), he proved his mettle by slicing across the man's stomach for extra pain.

Brook was a swordsman and a pirate. Never be it he to play fair. Nor he to miss his mark. The Fleet Admiral cried out as blood splattered across Brook's clothes.

"Guh!" The Fleet Admiral spat out. "It looks like you need some extra care and handling!" Then he plucked out his hair, and started to trace patterns.

"Oh no you don't!" Brook cried out, dashing straight at his opponent. Though he was not familiar with this particular attack, he could guess its murderous intentions. He would never let anyone do—

Brook froze.

"Well, that worked. Lucky~" The Fleet Admiral sang as he soared past Brook. Brook helplessly craned his neck, still stuck in the position of a run.

The thing is, he had been able to continue his ascent towards the air precisely because of his movement. Without moving his body, well...

"GYAAAH!" Brook screamed out, hands and feet stuck in a lunge as he plummeted towards the sea. "Not good! Not good!" Brook hastily pushed his soul out of his body. "What what what!" He panicked, because his body was going straight into open sea, and he was definitely going to drown. Nooooooo!

Wait a minute. Souls have almost negligible mass, compared to solid mass.

"Yohoho!" Brook whizzed past the Fleet Admiral, noticing an expression of dismay. Good. That would teach him to leave Brook hanging like that.

"You..." the Fleet Admiral pointed out, but Brook could no longer see him. Instead, within sight was Franky, who was busy helming their temporary ride.

"FRANKY! TROUBLE!" He shouted. "MYBODY'SINDANGERANDTHEFLEETADMIRAL'SHERE!"

"WHAT?" Franky shouted back.

"I said! FLEET ADMIRAL'S HERE!"

* * *

_"Guys, we've got trouble! Freaking Fleet Admiral's coming at us!"_

"We'll head over! His objective is probably Whitebeard, so I'll rush over while moss-head hastens the ship." Sanji answered, leg already on the railing of the ship.

"Wait a minute." Zoro snarled, dragging him back on deck. "Why do I have to stay here, pervert cook? I'm the faster of the two here!"

"Because you're more likely to get lost on the way there, sword-for-brains!"

"Swirly-eyebrow!"

The arguing duo found themselves under attack from a bo-staff, courtesy of an angry navigator.

"We're pressed for time here! Zoro, continue to blow the sails of this ship, we need to increase speed!" Nami ordered. "Sanji, quickly make it to _Moby Dick,_ we're counting on you!"

" _Of course Nami-swaaan!"_

"GO!" The Pirate King's cook rushed towards the direction of the port, running through the air as though a horde of transvestites were chasing after him. Ah, nothing like the love of a woman to get one going~ Wait, _that_ kind, not that kind! Sanji inwardly shivered. Never shall those people, those terrifying, and utterly ruthless creatures assimilate him into their culture.

 ** _"HELL MEMORIES!"_ ** Like a raging inferno, Sanji literally hurtled towards the _Moby Dick_ like a comet, powered by the recall of his time spent fleeing from the residents of Kamabakka Kingdom. He. Would. Not. Be. CAUGHT!

Nami sighed, before frowning. _That's odd_. Her gifts for estimating money aside, Nami had the ability to instantly count the number of people onboard, as long term exposure to Straw Hat eccentricity had led to a better touch of numbers than what most accountants would have paid their appendages to obtain.

There were _three_ missing from this ship.

 _"They're gone." They must have disappeared during our bout with Akainu._ Nami's eyes narrowed. _Now, where could they be?_

* * *

Trafalgar Law hissed as he sat up, blinking rapidly. He almost had it! His eyes met the sight of his former guardian, who was scanning through the blood analysis rapidly. Good, someone who actually specialised in chemistry, rather than a surgeon who studied pharmacy only due to necessity.

"Hallucinatory drug's ...almost all out." He coughed out. Damn, he really had to control the output of his power, the invasion of one's mind was far too stressful on the body. It was as though he had run through the usage of four 'Rooms' while running a marathon.

"Good job." Law's eyes widened. Praise was rare from this woman. "Luckily, I am familiar with this cocktail."

"Huh?" Cora-san looked from her to the print-out. "Why would you be?" _Cora-san!_ Law took care not to reveal his relief. It was not good to reveal one's cards, especially in front of this carnivore.

"Because she invented this particular combination. I have to say though, you really _have_ an art with pharmacy and its many charms." Law quickly stood up despite the spinning in his head to find someone standing in the doorway. Who was wearing a Marine cap and coat. Law sucked in a breath. So much for conserving energy to protect Cora-san.

"How did you get here so fast?" Merry hissed, standing protectively in front of Whitebeard. With a nod, Law flattened himself against the wall, unsheathing his sword. Meanwhile, Cora-san edged towards Law, slipping an energy booster. It was something Law had designed in order to avoid tiring out mid-battle, at the expense of feeling completely shitty in two days time.

"I have to ask you that same question too. Turns out it's really easy to attack once you've got a will to surpass others." The other man tapped his foot against the door frame. "Add _k_ _illing intent_ to _Conquerer's Haki,_ and you manage to get rid of the rest of them."

"I suppose you would know." Merry snarled back. _"Fleet Admiral Coby!"_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Had a bout of writer's block. Here you go!


	27. Rules

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Rules are discussed. Also, we see some of Coby's really bad decisions. Not my best work.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I was busy. In university. And distracted by Jojo. Expect more Jojo to come out than usual~ Also, I may have regretted deciding to embark on an epic.
> 
> I am seeking a co-writer or beta reader with this story. Please PM me, or review to give story ideas and moving this little plot bunny forward. So my ideas are filled for Dressarosa, but I really, really need someone to help me with Fishman Island. So many ideas, so little time to do so.

_"Oi, S...Smokey~" The man-child turned captain turned king hissed out as Smoker stumbles, tripping over his feet as though he were but a newborn child. "I...I know that you had no choice in this."_

_The Marine Admiral breathes out as he falls to his knees, no longer possessing the strength to uplift himself. Smoker was tired. More worn out than after the Alabasta fiasco, and just as injured as after Punk Hazard. The Pirate King looked no better, having long since collapsed onto the sandy beach._

_Five days. They weren't beating any records, but still. It was a battle to be spoken off. Wits were employed, Monkey D. Luffy utilized what little common sense and as much as his battle instincts, while Smoker had pushed the limits of his Devil Fruit. One to be spoken of by the masses later on once the dust had gathered._

_"Yeah. It was Coby who planned it out." Because that was how the arrangement was, at least in the more decent faction of the Marines. Coby was the great planner, the one who sorted out battles, delegating work. He knew how to utilize others. Smoker was more than happy to leave the bureaucracy and the red tape to Garp's proteges. Leave it to him to do the actual fighting. For that was what an Admiral was for, after all._

_"Should have guessed. it." Luffy slurred out. "That was a well-thought plan. I fell for it."_

_"It was not honourable." Smoker replied, deciding to lie on the floor next to his rival. The Pirate King chuckled._

_"Pi-rate~." Luffy hummed. "This is the end of the line for me."_

_"Are you planning to pull a Roger then?" For he had watched as Luffy tired more quickly than any man his age should have. Even Garp was a lean mean punching machine up till his late_ _**seventies.** _ _No reason for the Pirate King to tire so quickly, nor was he supposed to surrender without his nakama. The whole thing stunk of a trap. And Smoker was unwilling to go along with whatever madcap schemes that Luffy may come up with ._

_In due time, the uneasy peace after the throne wars would come to an end. Tears shed, hunts breaking out. The norm._

_"Shihihi. We'll watch as the world make it's move, eh, Smoker?" Smoker let out a noncommittal grunt in response. He didn't feel like replying to that nonsensical statement._

_"Ah well." A gentle sea breeze swept through, ruffling gently through both their scalps and the crown of Pirate Kings rustled against the ground._

_"That's a nice wind." And Smoker watched in disbelief as Luffy raised his hand, and slapped it against his jitte. Something glowed as bright and brilliant as the sun._

* * *

"You BASTARD!" Merry screamed, sending several scalpels through the air. With a casual **Iron Body** , Coby did not even flinch even as daggers shot past his head.

"Is that all you have? My my, those long years of imprisonment have served you well. You can't even fight back!" Coby smirked as he slammed Merry against the wall. He continued to maintain an eye on his struggling captive, while the other rotated to attend to Law.

 _Shit. SHIT._ Law could not even move a muscle. _This guy, I can't even move. What is this pressure?_

"Wondering what it is, Surgeon of Death?" the Fleet Admiral chortled. "This is my power! I am the Fleet Admiral of the Seas, of course I would have the will to summon others. For who do they listen too, if not I?"

"Don't you...dare..." Coby turned back to his captive. Merry, despite her small stature was still trying to fidget and squirm under his grasp. He tightened his grip on her throat, leading for her to splutter as he kicked her right in the solar plexus. He waved a finger in front of her, and whispered that if she were to struggle anymore, her precious little ward might die.

Her eyes went glassy. Then her cheeks flushed red in anger, but she remained still. Good. The soundboard was a threat when not within his hands. She could spy on his operations. Merry was too close to become an asset; and liabilities have to be taken care off as soon as possible. But killing's no good. If she were to be killed, another one would be brought back. Would it be one of the other Supernova Eleven? Or maybe one of Big Mom's kids? Or worst still, one of the Revolutionary Army? That group was still too volatile to be of much use. Maybe later on, when he had the time and necessary resources to cull the herd.

Coby took one hand off Merry's throat, instead holding the sea-stone tipped jitte down.

"So it's you now?" The one who executed his strategy merely looked bored. Perhaps even irritated. That said, he was still an obstacle.

"I disagree with you on this line of action, sir." _Current_ Vice Admiral Smoker retorted. "Let's take this outside, shall we?"

"Acting cool now?' Coby gave a harsh grin. "Your orders were to protect the 'item', have you forgotten? And you failed to do that." With a disinterested glance, he kicked Merry hard enough that she fell to the ground in a crumpled heap, wincing in pain. "And you allied with the Pirate King's Crew to do so. And Whitebeard's crew."

"It was necessary, sir." Smoker motioned towards Merry, "And I believe that we were to treat her kindly. Having her as an enemy would be troublesome to say the least." Coby shook his head in disbelief. The nerve of this guy, to countermand his orders. And to continue to hold on to these naive beliefs.

"Well, I say that we tie up any loose ends to begin with, Smoker. Or shall I remove you from your post then?" Smoker wouldn't dare. He valued his subordinates, especially Captain Tashigi, way too heavily to be willing to stand aside. Smoker would follow orders, whatever his distaste for them. It showed in Alabasta. In Punk Hazard. Even if he were to violently object to the World Government's commands, he would still follow them. That was the hierarchical nature of the system being reflected in the quality of their soldiers.

Coby was not exactly part of the system in the beginning. But as he rose up through the ranks, he found that he had to follow the rules set. If there were no rules, then subjectivity would follow. He had seen that way too often, from the small-time crooks like former Captain Nezumi, to the way Akainu violently _destroyed_ two soldiers who knew that they were out of their league. Orders have to be followed for the system to work.

But Luffy was a wild card. A random factor that was a spanner in the works. He never saw things through. He would always try to find the best for his nakama, even if the rest of the world were to fall. And Coby _would not_ see the world plunge into chaos, similar to how it had done after the 'uneasy peace'. He was too tired to have to continuously reorganize the world, to tidy up the pieces of the chessboard that Luffy had upended so carelessly.

Surely Smoker, for all his 'Moral Justice' issues would understand that? After all, he was there when they had decided to lure Luffy to Dawn Island. He had seen the seas rebelling. Smoker _had_ known what had occurred, the death toll between the fight of the four emperors, and the race of the throne had caused. Both he and Smoker had objected to the conscription, after seeing unwilling men desert for the high seas. Would he become a stone of obstruction? Or an aid to a greater and more peaceful era, one that Whitebeard had ultimately rejected.

Because it was Whitebeard who had done so. He was the one who had kicked off the Silver Era of Pirates, who had caused Akainu to react by shifting Marineford, and more unfortunately, by conscription and by heavy handedness. Coby preferred a light touch in the beginning, because he had seen Marines shifting from one side to the other, fuelled by the new disciplinary measures that Akainu had enforced. Instead of ensuring order, Akainu had created a pool of skilled sailors willing to betray their government for the freedom of piracy. What drives pirates, what drives Marines to the paths they seek? Their families, suffering from the toll that the World Government enacts on its populace? The need for freedom of the sea? Friendship and loyalty? They are all children of the sea.

Rules were _rules._ If one were to fall, then a whole chain reaction would follow. One by one, Marines would desert Akainu's direction, inspired by Aokiji's lead, and later on, by Luffy himself as the tide turned against the old World Government. And Coby had seen the aftereffects of that. Of families hunted down merely by their outlaw of a relation. Of the war-torn battle fields caused by the emperors and the Supernova alike after their quest for the throne was ended. Or even the anguished faces of people like Merry, who had to bear news of their relation having died at sea.

It was so senseless, having two sides of the same coin, both with the love of the sea, having to fight just because they were loyal to their captains. Under Coby's mandate, this would cease. If the world would be re-unified—

"Meh. Just my way to be different." Coby's eyes widened as he ducked down, Smoker's jitte barely missing his head.

"What's wrong with you, Vice Admiral!" Coby shouted back, "I'm on _your_ side!" Smoker simply raised an eyebrow as Coby was forced to dodge out of the cabin to avoid his next blow, and soon the two were on the railings of the deck itself.

There was shouting of course, from the Pirate King's Crew who were alighting off the dirigible. But Coby only had eyes for Smoker, who was grinning as he slung off his Vice Admiral's coat to reveal a scar climbing straight from his mouth, down his neck and under his shirt.

"Just following orders, sir." _Just_ following _orders? Whose was he talking about?_ Coby wanted to scream. Who was Smoker following? His mind raced ahead, tracing paths and patterns that he had failed to follow up after one misstep after another...

"No way. You traitor..." Coby whispered, unable to believe the conclusion that his intelligent mind had came too. It was impossible, but it made sense. But Coby did not want to believe it.

"Not by choice, I can tell you." Smoker started to coat his jitte in Armament Haki. "But these are the _rules_."

They clashed, Coby's leg against Smoker's jitte. Another clang, and Coby furiously cursed as he felt his body weaken. _Damn it!_ He shrieked mentally. It was the same way that Smoker had defeated Luffy. He must have released some of the seastone and turned it into powder, which he was able to redirect into Coby's lungs. One of the more advanced forms of his Devil Fruit, and worst of all, Smoker had no qualms about using it against his former boss.

Coby had to get out of here. There was no way he would be able to fight off Smoker, the Pirate King's Crew, _and_ Whitebeard's crew at the same time. As the old proverb says, retreat is the best strategy out there.

With one violent kick, he soared towards the sky. He would need to make better plans, plans that did not include Smoker. He scowled. That would be harder now...Smoker had much support in the Self-Defense Force...

Why did Smoker have to be of _that..._

* * *

"It looks like Coby's retreating!" Nami gazed as the Fleet Admiral flew past their reach. "Smoker took care of him!"

"Alright!" Usopp cheered. Then he froze. "Wait, what?"

"That's what I want to know as well." Ace clenched his fist. "Why would a Vice Admiral willingly give up on chasing down a Pirate to go after his commanding officer like that?" Evidently, he was remembering the events on Alabasta, where Smoker and Ace had fought in a bid to prevent Smoker from chasing down Luffy. "From what I can tell, that guy's a straight-laced freak alright."

"Miss Officer?" The Marine officer shot to her feet, eyes darting towards the one who spoke. "Why did your boss do so?"

To the Strawhat's collective surprise, Tashigi merely shook her head.

"It's his story to tell." Tashigi whispered hoarsely, her eyes brimming with tears.

"Huh?"

* * *

"Oi, Merry!" Merry slowly stirred, wincing as she did so. Those kicks _hurt_! And it looks like someone's not welcome to her bar anymore. Like she would willingly allow a guy who betrayed her in the first place. Merry could barely make out a slight hint of a white tinged thing. Oh, it must be Law.

"Ah, Law! You actually do care!" As her vision grew clearer, she could see her ward pouting as he crossed his arms. "I'm so glad!"

"You idiot!" Law gave her a noogie. Ow. "You're definitely stronger than that!"

"I am!" She agreed, smiling warmly. "But if I had gone all out, then I would not be able to confirm my suspicions." Both Law and Ro looked in askance at that. She surveyed the rest of the crowd of Whitebeard Pirates, who were similarly waking up after their massive time out. "Are the others back yet?"

"You think?" Law directed towards the largest crowd, full of Whitebeard Pirates surrounding Whitebeard's bed...

"Guararara!"

And the apparently awake Whitebeard. Who was greeting/consoling his kids. Great. Looks like her job was done. Now, to find Smoker...

She stood up, despite her head still groggy from the blow that Coby had given her. With the help of Ro (who she had to comfort, seeing that he had frozen up after Coby's curb stomp on her and was still in _that place_ ) and a frustrated Law (who was annoyed that he had expended effort all for nothing) to the deck, where Smoker was leaning against the railing.

He spotted Merry, and raised a cigar in a lazy salute. Next to him, Tashigi was busy ordering the men to take Caesar into custody, while the rest of the Straw Hats were either sitting or standing up.

"Sorry for the wait." Merry said automatically, even as she was ushered into her chair by Usopp. "I presume this has to do with your apparent rebellion?" At this, Smoker smirked, showing bare teeth.

"Hardly that. I've contacted Hina and the rest of the gang. They'll know he nearly caused a war that we didn't need in the first place." Smoker puffed out. "But I guess that's not the main reason why you immediately looked for me."

Merry paused, looking at the floor. How could one phrase this? She did not know what to do, twisting her hands as she bowed her head.

"You want to now why I fought back?" Smoker let out a nasty chuckle.

"I think I know why." Merry replied. That expression on his face was of cold comfort to her. Even so, she had to confirm _it._

"Tell me, Smoker." She paused, heart aflutter, but words continued past her mouth despite her hesitation. " _When were you going to tell us you were one of the twenty_?"

* * *

Ace heard one of the most heartrending sounds of laughter he had ever heard in his entire lifetime. It resonated so deeply with his bitterness that he jerked out of the relatively warm (read: enthusiastic and happy) feeling he had after Pops had woken up after the battle was over. Sure, Pops was still a bit sleepy, but he was fine now, and Ace felt as though a stone had dropped off his chest at that. But there was something in that laughter, that Ace had to investigate.

"I was not." Smoker's crisp reply somehow managed to hint at something greater than those words implied. Ace seamlessly melted into the crowd located closest to them, his ears pricked.

"Truth to be told," Smoker raised his head, facing the sky as he scratched his head, "I hoped that it would never come out. Not likely, I know, but it was something." Then, it was as though Smoker had observed him, because he winked at Ace.

"It's not going to be much of a secret, so Portgas, you don't need to hide despite your poor abilities at doing so." Ace scowled, his displeasure had being caught temporarily outweighing his curiosity.

"It's not like it's going to matter to me anyway." Ace hotly replied. "I want to make Pops king! So I'm listening because of that." Smoker shook his head, a sad smile crossing his face, similar to Gramps whenever Luffy was being too enthusiastic about his dream but Gramps not being in a shape to give a 'Fist of Love'.

"I think you would want to know this as well, because this concerns your brother. And the way that he was captured." This enraged Ace. Luffy, his brother, being _caught?_ He twisted on his foot, his fist ready to punch the living daylights out of Smoker, only to cough, black smoke coming out of his mouth as his lungs were suddenly smaller than he thought, and his throat was rough with something...

Oh. Devil Fruit. Smoker grimaced at him as Ace fell down, coughing out black smoke tinged with grey.

"It was Coby's idea." Smoker took out a cigar, twirling it about his fingers in a retrospective stance. "We both knew that Straw Hat Luffy would come running with the right bait. It just so happened that Straw Hat's home island had one ripe for the taking."

"It was not even confirmed, but on the flimsiest of pretexts, we gave him a message: _We know who the boy at Party Bar is._ Simple words, no?" Tashigi choked out, shaking her head in disbelief. "But Straw Hat came."

"We battled." Smoker took over, tracing circles with his cigar. "Five days and five nights, both to the point of exhaustion. At the end, I was the last one left standing."

"So that's what happened!" Nami shot up to her feet, pacing angrily. "You threatened Luffy with Makino's wellbeing? That's horrible!" She screamed, wringing her hands in open dismay. "You know who her son really is! How could you!"

"'Sins of the father, not sins of the child.' Of course I knew that." Smoker pointed towards Ace, who was visibly gritting his teeth. "But as you're all well aware, that child's supposed father had many enemies. All it would take would be just a hint, and even the World Government could not stop the onslaught. That was why Straw Hat _had_ to take action no matter what."

"So he was bait." Brook calmly spoke up, his voice icily cold. " _You reminded Luffy of Ace's..."_

"Not my plan, so hold your horses, 'Soul King'." Smoker waved in his direction. "I was not in favour. But I was countermanded. And in turn, overruled." He stood up, gazing at the horizon. Already, he could make out the barest glimmers of daylight falling through, the sun's rays quietly disappearing. Another day, another mission. He really did not want to head into the shitfest that was going to emerge within the Self-Defense Force.

It looks like there was going to be another schism. First, between those of Moral Justice and Absolute Justice. Now, he and Coby were on opposing sides. Hina would side with him, as would Tashigi. Coby would bring along some of the more extreme elements with him. What a nightmare. So much politicking to be done, all for the sake of someone deceased. Even if Smoker detested the upcoming elections, he knew that it had to be done.

"So you're the 'enforcer', then?" Merry piped up. At this, Smoker turned, and gave a warm smile. He gave a mock salute, leaning against the railings once more.

"As you are the 'soundboard', I supposed." He replied. The former Straw Hat Pirates looked confused. No wonder, if they were left in the dark as the Pirate King had intended. Smoker sometimes wondered if this was right, to intentionally leave a potential ally wandering about. But orders were orders. He could not countermand them, even if he tried to do so.

"What are you talking about?" Zoro baldly spoke up, his eyes narrowed. "What soundboard? What enforcer?"

"Each of us was tasked with a certain role. We can't all be 'doctors' or 'cooks', can we? After all, we are the Members of the King's Court, the Twenty Guardians of Raftel." Merry tilted her head in a teasing gesture. "We extend our help to those who require it. We choose our kings. And we are the subjects of His Will."

All of the Straw Hats stood up, ready to challenge him and ask for more. Smoker had delayed them long enough, and with a nod, both he and Tashigi leaped into the air. Similarly, Merry gave a saucy wink, and sped off with Law and Ro in tow.

"...Great." Sanji scratched his head. "Now what do we do?"

A tiny explosion immediately decided their next course of action.

"Okay, time to get out of here!" Nami hissed as a blazing inferno of biblical proportions erupted from where Ace had previously been standing. A few Whitebeard pirates who were nearby were already looking for Marco, while others, long prepared from exposure to Ace readied fire extinguishers.

With a gust of wind, the Pirate King's Crew, and their ship, were gone from sight. Now they had their answers. It was time to decide what to do.

* * *

 

"Marco!" One of his brothers shouted out. "The damn Marine's pissed off Ace!"

"Of course he did," Marco groaned as he glanced towards the deck, where the air was stirring up like an inferno. "Izo! Thatch!"

"Yeah!" Thatch snorted. "Wonder what got him all riled up this time."

"THAT SHITTY BASTARD! COME BACK SO I CAN ROAST YOU!" Ace was so full of rage he hardly noticed when Marco slammed a Haki-coated fist onto his head. Ace slowly looked up, before falling sideways back onto the deck.

"Gimme a break," Marco sighed as blue flames lit up across his arm, healing the burns away. "Where are they?"

"Both the Marines and Goku's former crew have already left, First Division Commander Marco!" One of the newbies reported back, glancing at Ace's unconscious (though not for long, Marco did not hit that hard this time) form lying on the deck. "I think they said something about Smoker being a member of some group of twenty, then the 'White Hunter' said that he was the one who...captured Goku?" Thatch choked in disbelief.

"Really? That guy? He's only been a Commodore for who knows how long? And he's the one who captured a Pirate King?"

Marco shook his head in disbelief at that. The Vice Admirals were a class on their own, owing to the fact that the Marines stuck to having three Admirals at any one time. Hence, the Vice Admiral position was often the final one a Marine could aim to reach in the hierarchy. There were those on the lower end of the scale, like Vice Admiral Strawberry and Onigumo, who were pretty much one-trick ponies. Then there were people like Bastille, who was promoted due to his views and not to his power level; or Doberman, who would have probably made Rear Admiral if it hadn't been for his 'Moral Justice' belief.

Before Roger's time, there were only Vice Admirals, and Admiral was a relatively new rank to counterbalance the Four Emperors that had appeared after Gold Roger's execution. Marco was pretty sure people like Tsuru or Garp would have made Admiral, had they been inclined to accept a promotion.

Still, that beggered belief that a newly promoted Vice Admiral was able to escape Ace in a towering rage, especially when Ace had been given time to recover from having been imprisoned.

"...Ow..." Marco glanced at the now awakening Ace, who was rubbing at the 'boulder' on his head.

"Chill 'bro." Haruta snickered. "Who got your panties in a twist!"

"That guy..." Ace hissed. "I fought him at Alabasta not a year ago, and I could easily match him, because we were both logias whose elements countermand each other. Now, not only was he going easy on me, he even had the gall to say that he was the one who used _me_ to capture Luffy! I'm going to burn him and-"

"But how did he managed to stop you then?" Izo asked in curiosity. "It's not like he would have come up with tricks that he hadn't used against you before? No one develops strategies within months and have the proficiency to carry them out in a split second!"

"I dunno." Ace's ragged breathing evened out. "But he somehow managed to fill my lungs with smoke. My currently burning _lungs._ How did he override the logia? And don't say Haki, because I'm pretty sure that he wasn't using it."

Marco paused. It was as though something had twinged inside his brain. Smoke filling one's lungs...sounded familiar.

"Hey, isn't that what the previous Smoke Logia did?" Vista stroked his mustache in thought. "Yes, I recall now."

"What is it, Vista?" Thatch scratched his head.

"Thirty or forty years back, there was a bounty that was going on for this guy's head. Haruta, could you check for the bounties during that time?" Haruta tilted his head as he went for the old but active bounty posters that he still kept. In a flash, they were spread out about the deck, and Vista combed through, his eyes searching through the dormant bounty posters until they lit up in recognition.

"Here!" Vista took one out. "Kitsuen, no epithet. Wanted for six hundred million berries for suffocating two known pirate bases by their allies." The bounty picture showed a shadowy figure half-hidden in smoke, with only the barest glimpse of a strong jawline and a scar running down the person's neck. His face was half hidden in shadown, but a lit cigar illuminated the fact that his teeth was yellow but even. An unusual fact, given the lack of dental care that most pirates would have.

"That's what they were calling the 'White Hunter' a while back!" Haruta pointed out. "Look! He's reputed to have been part of a group called the 'Pirate King's Court'!"

"Pirate King's court?" Izo echoed. "I was unaware that there was another Pirate King before Roger."

"You wouldn't have known, the way the World Government went about purging the memories of these guys." Marco replied, eyes flashing across the posters. With a startled yell, Thatch picked up another bounty poster.

"Hey! Isn't this the woman that was hanging around the marine? 'Cocktail Immortal', name unknown." The featured person was reported to have 'caused a plague across three countries', and destroyed some nature reserves that held valuable silk moths. Wanted for thirty million berries. Also a member of the 'Court of the Pirate King'.

"Are there anymore of these people?" Ace peered at 'Kitsuen's' poster.

"Looks like only three of them entered the bounty. Oho, this one is more familiar." Haruta snickered as he held up one on top of the stack from that period. "End of Perversion!"

There was a pause.

"What kind of name is that?" Thatch snickered.

"Dunno, but looks like he's more of a big deal! Get this: wanted for spreading immorality, known for peeping on at least twenty cases only to be beaten up afterwards." The man featured had his face utterly swelled up with numerous bruises dotted over his painted skin. "Wanted for twenty thousand berries."

"And these are all active." Marco slammed the 'Cocktail Immortal's bounty poster down. "Meaning there are more things that the World Government isn't telling."

"When is it ever not?" Izo shrugged as he gathered up the other bounty posters. "Hey, wait a minute." He stared at the 'End of Pervision' poster. "I recognize that family crest on his kimono."

Marco raised an eyebrow. Izo was hesitant to talk about Wano for good reason.

"Isn't that the Kozuki crest?" Vista tapped his chin. "I don't think I recognize that vassal..."

* * *

 

"Lalalah! My ladies!" A backside shook back and forth as its bearer popped out of a bush."What fine tits you have-"

"KYAAAAAAAH! PERVERT!" The women that had been bathing in the hidden spring screamed as they rushed for their clothes.

"You are wrong, my ladies!" The peeping tom stood up, raising one foot off the ground, while sticking his palm right in front of him.

" _From the East to the West."_ He chanted, hopping from one _geta-_ clad foot to the other. _"From the North to the South. I am no mere pervert."_

"Then what are you!" One of the women screamed out as they started to reach for the nearest blunt object.

" _I am a SUPER-AH CHOO, excuse me, someone must have been talking about me-PERVERT!"_ The samurai replied.

The females got out of the spring, now fully dressed and well aware that there was blood dripping down his face. That only increased their fury, as they grabbed the various stones and branches that had been lying around the spring.

"Get him, girls."

"WAAAAAAHAHAHA!" The self-proclaimed pervert screamed as the females violently accosted him. "Still fair, seeing all the flesh I have to myself!"

"He's not unconscious yet! Knock him out!"

"GYAAARHGH!"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yare Yare! Interview with Smoker: The Enforcer of the Sea!
> 
> JW: So Smoker, your big secret is out, huh?
> 
> Smoker: ...Sigh, what can I do? It's better to have it out there, then have the damn Straw Hats muddying the waters further. After all, if we were to leave them to their devices, another revolution might break out.
> 
> JW: Speaking of which, we know that Shirahoshi is the Mermaid Princess. So what's her role.
> 
> Smoker: That's classified.
> 
> JW: ...Okay, then we know that you enforce the law of the sea. What does that entail exactly?
> 
> Smoker: I have to kick people out of the Grand Line when necessary. Especially those who would not take a hint.
> 
> JW: I'm guessing that 'those' includes criminals?
> 
> Smoker: Naturally.
> 
> JW: Then what's the point of you choosing someone to become king?
> 
> Smoker: Who says I'm going to?
> 
> JW: Isn't that your job?
> 
> Smoker: My job, as I say, is to get rid of criminals who break the law.
> 
> JW: ...How is that different from your original occupation?
> 
> Smoker: That's classified.
> 
> JW: Then who are the others?
> 
> Smoker: That's classified.
> 
> JW: Will you at least give me one small piece of info?
> 
> Smoker:...Why would I say it? (T: Smoker! The soldiers are doing it again.)
> 
> Smoker: Excuse me, I need to go. (Walks out of the room).
> 
> JW: Well that was helpful.
> 
> PUNK HAZARD ARC: END!


End file.
